Marine's Mistake
by ChillMalDigga
Summary: Naruto wanted to be a Marine but his career was short and left the young captain with nothing. Searching for a new dream and friends he started his new adventure under another flag. The jolly roger of the Konoha Pirates. FemAce x Naruto
1. Chapter 1

Note: Another Pilot Project of mine. I recently got back to the OnePiece fandom after 6 years of Naruto but since it ended I am a bit dissapointed. For me the Naruto manga ended with chapter 699. I am NOT happy with the whole Boruto story. I am a sailor myself and try to get the correct terms for pirate/marine ships but I am not narrativ english autor and for me some or most of the vocabs are new. Try to understand me and I try to give you a good story. Naruto and One Piece are not from me. Ace wouldnt be dead if I had something to say.

A short review wouldn't hurt!

* * *

 ** _A short career_**

Captain Naruto Uzumaki. He was a proud young officer and Vice-Admiral Garp's best officer since many years. The young blond man counted 15 years and he was a master of Rokushiki, a fighting style he was taught already by his parents.

It was a fact in the marines that the blond didn't tell anyone about his family. For the Marines he was just an Uzumaki and they were right. By his mother's blood he was an Uzumaki but the Marines mustn't know that he came from a family full of pirates. His mother was the sister of Yonko and leader of the red haired pirates, the red-hair Shanks and pirate herself. His mother was known as crimson death Namikaze Kushina, married to another Yonko. His father was Namikaze Minato, leader of the flash pirates. His father himself ate the **_Senkou Senkou no Mi_** , a logia type devil that turned the man into a living flash.

His connection alone would have made Naruto a target to the Marines so he covered all his traces to his family with using his mother's maiden name. It allowed him to become a legal sailor. Unlike the rest of his family he wants to uproot the Navy legally in gaining ranks and taking names.

With his own ship, the _Silent Hunter,_ he started into the world full of adventures. The blond well-built young man didn't knew his crew but he had a feeling that he and his crew would manage and become great. He was optimistic that soon he could argue with the higher ups about the global situation and that not all pirates were bad.

So there he stood. His whole new crew and he stood und the peer to their ship and listened to Garp's pricing that their new captain was a levelheaded and well trained marine with a bright future. Naruto's chest puffed in pride and he took his captain-coat and his first assignment. They had to meet up with the fleet at the Sabaody Archipelago. The fleet Admiral would take over the command there.

Naruto turned to his young crew and grinned.  
"Set sails!" He shouted and the sailors sprinted to the ship and did their work. The Grand Line was waiting for them and their adventure started!

* * *

The fresh-Crew was wet to their bones. A storm had shaken the men on the ship and their main sail was ripped but one crew member already worked on that. Their shipwright worked hard on the mizzenmast because it was nearly destroyed. The only positive side effect was that they were a bit earlier than they had to be. But the fleet Admiral just had barked out orders and now the sailed next to the big ships of the admirals, threatened by the bow-wave every now and then. Naruto wasn't happy how his crew was treated but he was just a lonely captain in a fleet full of Commodore, rear and Vice- Admirals leaded by the Fleet-Admiral himself.

He endured the bickering and degrading comments of the higher ranking officers. He was a greenhorn that he knew but he wouldn't let them spit on his crews achievements because they sailed through a storm without complaining. The _Silent Hunter_ wasn't made for storms on the Grand Line. Their ship wasn't made for the Grand Line at all.

But the captain was optimistic. The crew had faith in him and followed his command bravely. Naruto would fight for them until they got a bigger ship that would carry on the endurance of the _Silent Hunter_. They just needed someone giving them a thumb up and then they would bring justice to the world.

The blond captain nearly jumped out of his musings when the _Den Den Mushi_ rang and he ran up to it.

" _Uzumaki!"_ A Rear Admiral shouted and he winced.

"Sir!" He responded respectfully.

" _We are facing a Yonko soon, Uzumaki. Fleet Admiral Sengoku sends your ship out for scouting. Use that chance to proof that you are worth your money."_ The Rear Admiral barked and the blond understood.

"I understand sir. We are going to set sails." He answered and shouted the commands. They sailed away from the island and to the open sea and half a day later the big marine ships followed. Naruto sighed at the sight of his higher ups in fire range. At the moment they were only cannon fodder and that was something that made the young captain nervous.

The sun downed and no pirate was in sight. The young captain made the shifts for the ship so the crew could sleep. The early morning shift was his and his first mate's shift and they watched the sun raising. And with the sun sails were seen on the horizon. Naruto shouted alarm and soon his crew was up.

For the blond the sight of these particular sails was horrible. The jolly roger of his uncle Shanks laughed at him dangerously and he jumped to the _Den Den Mushi_ to inform the Admirals. But nobody picked his call up.

"Chester! Turn the ship around! That's red-hair Shanks and the _Red Force_! We have no chance against that ship!" Naruto yelled and his navigator turned the steering wheel. The _Red Force_ closed the distance fast and was followed by a fleet of pirate ships, all of them bigger than the _Silent Hunter_. Naruto prayed that his Uncle wouldn't open fire until they were secure in the rows of the Admiral-ships.

He looked hopefully to the big ships of the Marine. They came fast and would soon confront the pirates. But suddenly the crew of the _Silent Hunter_ was shook up by the crash of cannonballs into their ship. And the pirates didn't open fire! It was one of the Commodore ships that fired on them. Panic disturbed the crew and Naruto couldn't get them back under command. Another cannonball hit them from the Marine ships and destroyed the ship body underneath the waterline. The blond looked hopeless to his uncle but he knew he would die with his crew. Another cannon ball brought the _Silent Hunter_ to her knees and the small scouting ship sank with her crew…

* * *

Shanks couldn't believe what happened.

They had seen the small ship that the Marines sent out and laughed. That was a lifeboat for a ship like his _Red Force_. He had to admit that the crew was brave enough to sail head first into their doom. The red haired pirate would have made sure to send the poor souls back to Marineford until they could get a bigger ship than that nutshell. He remembered the latter that Rayleigh Silvers had sent him from his nephew that he made it to captain.

Shanks wasn't happy that Kushina and Minato let their son go to the marines but they were family and family stuck together. And to achieve captain rank so soon within the Marines was rare. He was proud that his nephew would soon start to convince the World Government, that pirates and Marines could live with each other. The marines would hold the seas clean from criminals and the others could do whatever they wanted.

He hoped that Naruto didn't know that poor souls on the small ship because he wouldn't hear the end of that if the blond found out about that.

His crew laughed when to small ship turned on spot and sailed back to the Marine fleet. Good decision. Shanks watched in amusement how the _Silent Hunter_ , Yasopp had told him the name when he could read it their Stern, returned to the fleet. His smugness vanished the moment the fleet attacked their members. The wind carried the panicked cries of the crew and the desperately commands of the young captain to them. But they were silenced when another cannonball hit the small ship.

"Shit." Beckmann whispered next to his captain who nodded.

"Why would they do that to their own?" Yasopp asked and lowered his head.

"To blame us. We are also in fire range." Shanks growled and they attacked.

The end of all was that the Marines had to swallow a defeat by the bigger fleet of pirates and they fled. No other ship was completely destroyed during the whole fight but a lot of pieces swan in the sea. Shanks looked for the remains of the _Silent Hunter_ but the ship sank completely and most likely took everything with her. They prayed for the men.

* * *

Namikaze Minato sighed into his cup of morning coffee. He sat on the deck of his ship _Hirashin_ and read the newest Newspaper. He snorted at the news about pirates being too cocky and some news about small criminals. His biggest interest laid on the news about the fight that his brother-in-law fought near the Sabaody Archipelago. The Navy complained about pirates winning the whole thing and that one of their newest captains was killed in action. Minato frowned at the thought of a green captain dying so soon. His own son just became captain...

 _We will remember the brave actions of the crew of the_ Silent Hunter _who took fatal hits from the_ Red Force _herself. Captain Uzumaki Naruto didn't stand a chance against Yonko Shanks and his crew._

Minato's blood freeze at the thought of his son being dead… He couldn't believe it. He just got the message from son that they were assigned to their first mission and it was his own uncle that killed him. Furry spiked within him and his _Haoshoku Haki_ let the newer members of his crew crumble like burning leafs. He stormed to his _Den Den Mushi_ to call Shanks. He prayed that the news was fake.  
Shanks responded to his call and Minato growled furiously.

"Shanks. Did. You. Shot. The. _Silent Hunter_?" He asked in heavy breaths. He trembled in anger and fear for his son.

 _"_ _Hello to you too, Minato." How is my little sis doing? Still nagging on your crew?"_ Shanks greeted and ignored the question.

"Answer, dammit Shanks! The newspaper reports that the _Silent Hunter_ sank in your battle with the Marines! Naruto was on that ship!" Minato barked and hoped that his normally playful brother-in-law could see why he was so angry.

Silence…

 _"_ _Shit. Does Kushina know? You know me Minato. I wouldn't shoot on Marines that surrendered. These marine-pigs shot on their own ship to blame us. I didn't know that the_ Silent Hunter _was Naruto's ship. It's gone, Minato. We searched for survivors but the ship took everything with her into the sea. I am on my way. Kushina is going to be mad."_

Minato swallowed the lump in his throat. Tears streamed down his cheek. It was his own fault that he allowed Naruto to go to the Marines. He truly hoped that their son could bring the change there.

"We'll wait for you, Shanks. Kushina is going to need you too." Minato said shakily and put the _Den Den Mushi_ away. Like an undead he walked to his quarters where Kushina still slept. He sat himself on the edge and slowly shook his darling wife awake. Her red hair surrounded her like a halo. She smiled at him and opened one eye.

"It's too early Minato-koi." She mumbled and tried to get him into an embrace.

"Kushina. Please, something happened. You have to listen to me." He said, his normally soft voice trembling. She was wide awake the next second.

* * *

Shanks meet them half a week later and comforted his sister. Kushina still denied the fact that her poor baby died on the sea. The red haired pirates and the flash pirates held a sea burial for their fallen brother, son, nephew and friend.

"It is like being stabbed in the back when you turn around. Naruto knew that he had no chance against our fleet and turned around. It was already brave enough of him to sail on that nutshell of a scouting ship in front of the Marines." Shanks told his sight of the story. He knew that would fuel the pirates hate on the Marines and he hoped that they could pay the Fleet-Admiral back for what they had done to one of their own.

The two Yonkos were on war path and they wouldn't stop until the Marines paid.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Still needed_**

Air. He coughed up a lot of water. He needed air! Croakily he opened one clear-blue eye and saw that he was washed ashore on a beach. He was alive! Another coughing fit shook him and he hacked up a lot of seawater. How long did he lay here? Naruto cried in happiness. He was truly alive! He could feel the sun burning on his back.

Slowly he stood up. His lips were dry and he was thirsty. Seawater took its tribute fast. And the blond captain was hungry. In front of him was a forest and he truly hoped that he could find some freshwater and food in there.

He dragged himself into the cool shadows of the high trees and used a trick he learned from one of his dad's crew members. He forced a bit of his life energy into his nose and sniffed the air. He smelled salt and the beach, the trees and some animals. But he found a source of clear water and stumbled over some fallen trees to reach it.

His thirst stilled Naruto searched for food. Soon he found the faint smell of a village. Were people lived there was food. Following his nose he found himself in front of high walls. There was a gate and he entered it. The young captain was happy that he carried a small wallet with money in his pockets. He had long lost his coat but he carried another small wallet in his boots. Something his mother taught him early in life when pirates tended to rob other pirates more often.

After he ate he sat on the bar-chair and brooded. He didn't know how to continue. He had no ship, no crew, may the gods bless the poor souls, and little money left.

"Sir, can I help you with something?" The chef asked him concerned.

"Do you know how I can get some money? I am shipwrecked and lost here. I can fight if I have to but I just need a place to stay and some food…" He sighed but the man nodded.

"Go to the tower in the center of the village and as for a meeting with our leader. He may have a position for you since you are capable to fight but you seem to be a bit young. Maybe he'll send you to the academy 'till you prove yourself." He said and smiled at the young captain. Naruto was thankful that the man helped him and went to the tower.

He had to wait an hour or two but that was nothing for a captain who had to endure calms which lasted days. But eventually the leader of the town found time for him and greeted the newcomer. He was an old man but he gave of a powerful aura. Naruto bowed to him. The man laughed and said he should cut the formal crap.

"Boy, you are ages too young to be that formal. Not even my own jonins are that respectful to me until I need them for missions or reports." The old leader said and gestured to him that he should take a seat.

"Now tell me what brought you on my humble island? By the way, my name is Sarutobi Hiruzen; I am the Hokage of Konohagakure. Call me whatever you want." He said warmly and Naruto smiled.

"Is it ok when I call you jiji? Never had grandfather." The blond asked cheekily and the old leader just laughed.

"If you wish."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I came here because my ship was wrecked. I am… I was marine captain fresh out of the academy. My own people shot on my ship. We were a fresh crew sent to our death… I have nowhere to go until I get a new ship or someone could take me to my family. Until then I would offer my service to your village." Naruto told him the short vision of his story.

"A marine hmm… So you were taught how to fight. Say, do you know how to use **_Haki_**?" The old leader asked curiously but Naruto shook his head.

"Vice-Admiral Garp says that my **_Haki_** power lays dormant within me until I am forced to use them. I had no need to until now to awake my **_Haki_**." The young captain said and Sarutobi seemed to be happy about that fact.

"That is good. Everybody on this island has the chance to awaken his **_Haki_** if they wish that. Don't be so surprised. **_Haki_** is within everybody but only a small percentage can activate the **_Haoshoku Haki_**. We don't use just our willpower but our live force to and together we call that power **_Chakra_**. I know what you want to ask. Why don't we fight in the world. You need to know that we shinobi became rare. Konohagakure is the last standing shinobi village at all. Your father, Namikaze Minato, took a lot of them with him to spread our teachings. Ah I know who you are the moment you entered my office, Namikaze D. Naruto." The old man chuckled at the muffled face of the youngster who flashed red and bowed his head. Sarutobi lighted his pipe and exhaled the smoke.

"I also knew that you carry more than the Will of D. The curse of the Uzumaki is sealed deep inside of you and you never touched it. That's good too. And your life force is strong. Maybe stronger than my own. You are lucky that these years batch of academy students just started their training and didn't go over the awakening of **_Haki_**. I'll put you in Iruka's class and you'll get a student loan until you finish your studies." Sarutobi explained to him and Naruto awed at the plan.

"Sir… sorry jiji, what do you wish for my services? I am thankful but nothing comes without a cost." Naruto asked and hoped the old man's demands wouldn't be ridiculous.

"You are already trained as captain unlike your father who I needed to groom to a leader. I'll give you the same task like your father. You already possess the Will of D. I'll teach you the will of fire. Teach the people out of here our ways. The batch of students you'll take with you is the last one we can teach. The other families already moved away from here. Claim this island as your home and make it famous. Maybe then we can teach new kids." Sarutobi sighed. He hoped that the young man would be the one that could help them to become great again.

Naruto smiled. He liked the idea of a permanent save haven. His parent's ship was his only home and they were permanently moving. A place to settle down after the great adventure would be nice…

"I'll do it, old man. No problem." Naruto said eagerly and grinned. It was so easy to forget the hardly trained manners of the Marines. He was never one to follow the rules.

* * *

Two years into the academy didn't teach Naruto much. He was good with the academics but not superb. He was on top of the battle classes since he already learned how to fight with a sword or hand to hand combat thanks to his connections. But he was more interested into the **_Haki_** classes.

Beside that he found great friends. There were Kiba and Akamaru. Kiba was a typical fighter and beast tamer, he joked a lot and he was immature like hell. Then there was Shikamaru. A great tactician and someone who was well versed as navigator but he seems to prefer to sleep and calling everything troublesome. His best friend Choji was the tank of their friends. A big boned young man with an appetite for a whole crew but he was an excellent chef. Their best friend was Ino. She was a master of **_Kenbunshoku Haki_** because their family taught them early into the skills of mind reading.  
Sakura, a girl with pink hair was an excellent combat medic and doctor. She could use her **_Chakra_** to double her strength and destroy boulders like nothing. Then there was Hinata. She was the best hand-to-hand combat fighter with chakra in their class. She also took care of them like a mother hen.

Shino was one of the first of their group that used devils fruit powers. A devil fruit that went through the Aburame family ever since their founding. The logia type fruit **_Kikaichu Kikaichu no Mi_** that turned the user into a swarm of insects. Shino could dry his targets dry of their life force and destroy unknown by the enemy whole ships thanks to this power.

The last of their class was Naruto's best friend and rival. Sasuke Uchiha, the second user of a devils fruit which was also from his clan. The Paramecia Devil Fruit **_Sharingan Sharingan No Mi: Model Susanoo_** gave the black haired Uchiha the power to force his own life force out of his body to create an energy shield that could take the shape of a warrior or skeleton around him. He also could use the energy as weapons. Sasuke was the best swordsmen of their group and even beat him once or twice in a spar. That teme was an arrogant bastard but he accepted Naruto as their unofficial leader even if it seems that they hated each other with all their bickering.

Naruto smiled at the thought of his original eight friends. They were the perfect crew but they still missed a scout, a shipwright and a sharpshooter. These rolls were filled by Hinata's cousin Neji and his friends Lee and Tenten.

Neji was a bastard like Sasuke but he always thought that everything was decided by fate until Naruto gave him a major beat up. He was the scout of their group thanks to the range his sight reached. Lee was always full of energy. Thanks to a condition of his he couldn't use his life force to fuel his **_Haki_** and was the only one who couldn't use **_Chakra_** but it made him to a great combat specialist and a prodigy of hard work. Lee claimed the position of the shipwright as soon as he caught wind of it. Tenten was excellent with all kind of weapons and got every target. She claimed the position as sharpshooter with joy.

They knew that they would move from their homeland to see the world and to fight. Most of them shared Naruto's dislike against the Marines after he told them his story but they agreed not to fight the marines openly.

Together they were twelve. Twelve young pirates ready to start their journey. The village of Konohagakure gifted them with a ship that made the captain proud. The _Hi no Ishi_ was a ship that could match against his Uncle's _Red Force._ Their jolly roger showed the traditional skull wearing a headband with the symbol of Konoha. Behind the skull katana crossed, a part of the symbol that Sasuke wished.

They set sails the first time the day after they graduated. Konoha's population waved them off from the port and soon the frigate entered the sea. Naruto took a deep breath of sea air and he could feel that he was still needed out there. **_Arashi no Namikaze Naruto_** entered the game.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Meeting the Straw Hats_**

They traveled the Grand Line for nearly two years. The _Konoha Pirates_ didn't sail to the New World. No, Naruto planned to reach his parents for the first time in over 3 years. He had celebrated more than 5 birthdays away from them and they most likely thought that he was dead after the attack on the _Silent Hunter_.

There was a rumor that the Yonkos held a meeting near Alabasta to discuss the current situation against the world government.

Naruto stood on the figurehead of the _Hi no Ishi_ , a snarling fox, and thought about everything that happened. They had fought against a lot of Marines and rogue pirates and took names. He didn't know if they had already reached enough attention that a bounty was put on their heads because they never stayed long enough to be bothered by bounty hunters and most of them changed a lot after they became true pirates.

He himself stood 6,9 feet(2.1m) tall and had his messy blond hair with red streaks spiked wildly in all directions. Only his Konoha headband kept his unruly hair out of his face. He wore a reddish orange coat over a black shirt and black trousers. He also wore an orange sash as belt and steeltoed black boots.

Most of them changed their wardrobe like he did. Sasuke even let his hair grow out so it reached his shoulders and covered his left eye. The others changed more subtle and looked more like pirates than island inhabitants.

"Captain Dobe." Sasuke interrupted his musings with a small smile on his lips.

"Teme, what's up?" Naruto asked and gave off a wide yawn.

"Manners, dope. Didn't your mother teach you manners? Hyuuga can see the coast of the Alabasta Kingdome. We are heading to Nanohana to fill up our resources. The crew would like to stay a day or two to write their families." Sasuke informed him and Naruto nodded.

"As long as we find a save place for the _Hi no Ishi_ there should be no problem to stay longer." The blond said with a smile and looked to the horizon. He could see some buildings and the port. Lee steered their ship to a hidden bay. The blond looked surprised that another ship was here but the single flag that blew in the wind showed that these were pirates.

"Kiba, Shino, Hinata!" Naruto called his friends. They were his tracking team thanks to Kiba's partner Akamaru, Hinata's eyesight that was nearly as good as Neji's and Shino's insects. But today he needed them for guarding the ship. He knew these three would be disappointed that they had to stay on the ship but they would have the first right for leaving the ship next time. He explained the situation to them and they understood. In a dangerous situation these three could move the _Hi no Ishi_ to another spot and send Akamaru to get them.

The other 9 pirates took off to the shore and walked from there to the city. Nanohana was big and a typical dessert city. The group walked through the street together until they found a spot where they could meet again. From that place one could see the open sea easily and the rest of a wall was a good mark. Naruto took a knife and grooved their symbol in the stone.

"When something happens, flare your chakra. We'll meet ASAP here when things become to dangerous. I don't want to lose anyone of you to the Marines." Naruto ordered and the group nodded to their captain. Then they parted and the reddish-blond captain sighed. Time for food.

He followed his nose to a restaurant named _Spice Bean_ and seated himself on a bar-chair. He ignored the sleeping girl next to him. The other guest said that she was dead but he knew better. The girl was just sleeping. That happened on his ship regularly.

"Chef, do you serve ramen?" The young captain asked and shook the staring man out of his shook.

"Yes…"

"Good. 10 Bowls ASAP!" Naruto demanded with a smile and the chef sighed.

Naruto took his waiting time and studied the girl next to him. She was still sleeping. A orange hat rested on her back with two smileys, one frowning and one smiling face. The girl herself had short messy black hair and wore a necklace with pearls. She had a tattoo on her left arm with the letters ASCUKA. The S was crossed out and replaced by a C.

Suddenly she awoke and Naruto snorted. The chef put the first bowl in front of him and he started to eat. The men in the restaurant that believed that the girl was dead shrieked that her acting was nonsense but the black haired girl ignored them, peacefully eating her food again.

"Say Chef, do you know that man?" She asked and showed the man a wanted poster. Naruto glanced at it out of the corner of his eyes and snorted again. A straw hat.

"No. He never came here."

"His ship is in the hidden bay." Naruto interrupted him and looked now directly at the girl. She clearly was a pirate so she should know that place.

Out of the sudden something crashed into the restaurant and took the girl with it. Naruto shrugged. Ignoring the new hole in the restaurant wall he continued to eat his bowls. The newcomer took the chair next to him and demanded everything eatable. The blond captain snorted again and glanced at the straw hat. That was the infamous Monkey D. Luffy. Well now he had seen it all. The guy ate so fast and without any manners even Naruto became sick from watching him.

The chef gapped at Luffy and tried to convince him that he should go because someone searched after him. Luffy looked to the hole in the wall and asked why it was there. The whole restaurant facepalmed at him. The blond took a sniff of the air and shuddered. Smoke. A lot of smoke.

"Thanks for the meal, old man. That should be enough to pay my meal and that from the girl and the wall." Naruto said and paid a good worth of money. The blond tried to walk outside but at the next moment he was hit by something. Groaning he looked up and grumbled something about stupid straw hats. A marine officer was hot on the heels of the young raven haired pirate.

"Luffy, wait!" The girl cried and jumped over him. Naruto had enough. He wanted to know what was happening and followed them.

* * *

"Search your own place, moosehead and crew." Sasuke growled at the swordsman. The crew came back to the meeting place when they saw that the whole village was overrun by marines.

"We were here first!" The one with the long nose cried unhappily but the eight crew members of the _Konoha Pirates_ knew better. Shikamaru was the first to appear here before the strangers took their place.

"Troublesome we left a mark here. Search your own place we are waiting for our captain."

"So do we. Can we just share the place?" A tall blond asked and looked over the other crew. They had more fighters than they and were older. Something cried dangerous.

"Sasuke, stand down. Let them stay with us. There is no need to fight." Ino growled at her comrade. The Uchiha snorted and leaned on the wall.

Suddenly a cry let the _Straw Hat Pirates_ look up. That could only be their captain.

And that dumbass leaded the Marines directly to them.

"What an idiot. Scatter and meet up at the _Hi no Ishi._ We are going to send Akamaru after him." Shikamaru ordered. He knew he had no right to order them as the second mate, the right went to Sasuke without Naruto because the raven haired Uchiha was the first mate, but Sasuke accepted the command and vanished.

The _Straw Head Pirates_ where awed by the sight and sighed. Why didn't they scatter like them?

Smoker attacked Luffy directly who desperately tried to flee from the Marine captain but two other forces intercepted the attack.

"Your smoke is nothing against my fire, Smoker." The tattooed girl said smugly.

"And my wind is blowing you away. Try not to be too sad but today you are not getting any pirate." The red-blond man snarled at the marine captain. He knew Smoker than anyone. He picked a lot on him during his time in the Marine academy.

The _Straw Hat Pirates_ were awed by the power of these two.

"Asuka?! You are here?" Luffy asked his sister who grinned brightly at her brother.

"You didn't change at all, Luffy." She laughed and her flames burned brighter. Naruto watched the whole scene, wind blades licking on his skin, ready to strike again and he smiled at that sight.

"Asuka, did you eat a devil fruit?" Luffy asked and the blond captain shook his head.

"I don't want to interrupt a family meeting but Smoker is still here and Marines are incoming." Naruto barked and these two interrupted their non-sense to blink at him.

"Monkey D. Luffy, you and your crew should flee. I am holding them off for a while."

"And I am helping." Asuka declared prideful.

The _Straw Hats_ scattered and left them behind.

"By the way, my name is Namikaze D. Naruto." The blond said and the Marines gasped. Some of them knew him as Uzumaki Naruto but now they are facing each other as enemies.

"Get out of my way, Fire Fist Portgas D. Asuka, Storm Namikaze. I am after the Straw Hats." Smoker growled but Asuka set the whole place in flames. Her inferno burned brightly and Naruto fueled the flames with his wind. Asuka smirked at him and they attacked. A firestorm overruled the smoke and they sent Smoker away, bruised and badly burned.

"You are a good tag team partner but I need to meet with Luffy." Asuka said to him and Naruto snorted.

"I am going with you. My crew scattered thanks to the air for head and is waiting most likely at the same place as the _Straw Hats_." Naruto told her and she shrugged. Together they jumped over some house roofs and found the captain of the _Straw Hat Pirates._

Asuka and Luffy bickered a bit and were happy to see each other again. Naruto silently followed them and Luffy told Asuka and him about his crew until he noticed the blond.

"Who are you again?" Luffy asked and the blond captain snickered.

"Captain Namikaze D. Naruto. I am captain of the _Konoha Pirates_ and my ship is at the same place as yours. So I decided to follow you two."

"That's so cool! You are a captain too?" Luffy awed and both, Asuka and Naruto, laughed.

"I already said that, rubber man. Never saw a devil fruit user like you. A Paramecia?" Naruto asked and Luffy nodded.

"And you are a Logia type devil fruit user. Good to know somebody like you. Even better that you are on our side, airhead." Asuka chipped in and Naruto sweatdropped.

"Ya know, flame chick, without my wind your flames couldn't exist. Why you!" Naruto growled when she hit her elbow in his stomach.

"Call me flame chick again and I am going to burn you." She playfully winked and Naruto muttered some curses.

Luffy found his ship when they reached the coast already sailing away and he used his devil fruit power to reach his crew. He forgot Asuka who cursed at her brother.

"I am going to bring you to him. Follow me, my ship isn't far away." Naruto declared and lead her to the _Hi no Ishi_. He smirked when she awed at his ship. He liked the fiery temperament of the girl and was happy to help her.

"Naruto! Good that you are here." Hinata greeted him and the blond nodded.

"Set sails, guys we have a ship to catch. Asuka here needs a ride to the ship of her brother.

They soon reached their pace and followed the smaller ship of the _Straw Hat Pirates_. Asuka sat on the bow rail and watched in awe how smooth the big ship cruised over the waves.  
Only minutes later they reached the _Going Merry_ and the _Straw Hats_ were amazed by their fellow pirates ship.

"I said my sis is cool!" Luffy declared and the other pirates sweatdropped.

"It's our time to move, Straw Hats. I need to meet up with the Yonkos. Catch!" Naruto told them and threw a white sheet of paper to them.

"That is a Vivre Card. If you ever need mine or my crews help that card is going to lead you to me. My home is the Grand Line. I sailed these waters already as a kid so consider us as help and allies." Naruto told Luffy and was about to give the commands to his crew but he was interrupted.

"You are meeting with the Yonkos? Can you tell Whitebeard that I am still following the trail to Blackbeard?" Asuka asked him.

"You should talk to himself. You need a bigger ship than the nutshell you bound on my ship to follow Blackbeard. Last time I heard that he was at the Sabaody Archipelago. That was half a week ago." The blond captain said and Asuka sighed.

"I am sorry Luffy, I am not going to travel with you. I really need to find Blackbeard." The girl said and gave her brother her own Vivre Card.

"You'll find me again. We'll meet sooner or later. Keep you and your crew safe!" Asuka said and jumped back on the _Hi no Ishi_. She waved her brother off and turned to the stunned crew.

"So, we've got a blind passenger?" Sasuke snorted and Naruto threw a curse at the swordsman who shrugged it off.

"Welcome on my ship, Asuka. The _Will of Fire_ is your home until we reach the Yonkos." Naruto welcomed her in the crew and the opened the booze. It was a good day for the _Konoha Pirates._


	4. Chapter 4

**_Meet the elite_**

Asuka knew that the Yonkos wouldn't meet at Alabasta because Whitebeard told her that she could meet them in Drum. It wasn't that far to sail to the winter island.

Asuka liked how the crew was like a family. They bickered and fought a lot. These 12 pirates remembered her of Whitebeard and her own crew, only that Naruto was their leader and didn't throw the overboard in a fit.

Naruto was happy to have somebody else than Sasuke willingly to fight against him and his devil fruit power. He had to experiment a lot with his wind to not accidently snuff out Asuka's flames completely and taking her breathing air. But the girl was stubborn and fought with everything she had. Once Naruto needed to put her out with a directed blast of **_Haoshoku Haki_** to stop her flames catching his ship. That was the first and last time he warned the woman that she needed to keep her temper in check.

Asuka held great respect. Nobody fought her off as easily as the blond, not even his other crew members and every one of them were incredibly strong. She didn't know if the young captain could match Whitebeard's power but she believed that the only thing that would hinder the boy was his experience.

The weather became colder and she took a walk on deck of the ship when most of the crew was under deck, sleeping, training or reading. She was surprised to find Naruto sitting in the figurehead of his ship and walked up to him. The blond, with the red streaks in his hair, seemed to meditate. She waited for him to notice her…

"You know, if I didn't know it better, I would demand that you would get back under deck. But you are a living heater." He snickered and she smirked.

"Says the airhead that can condition himself in the desert." She bit back and they laughed but she became once again concern.

"Why are you sitting out here? Shouldn't you be with your crew?" She asked him and he shook his head.

"Sometimes it is better for me to take my time out. I love them with all my heart but the wind is always on the run. It feels too closed in there. The wind cannot be contained, just like the sea or a wildfire. I need to meditate whenever my power gets a better of me. And it is the only time I can think about everything without concerning my friends."

"Thinking about what?" She asked curiously and regretted the question as soon as it left her. That was a too personal question…

"About my family, my career, how I ended up becoming a pirate. You should know I never wished to become a pirate at all." He told her. Naruto told her his story from his childhood to the day they met in Alabasta. Asuka somehow as touched and when she saw the small marine tattoo on the shoulder of her new friend that someone tried to claw off, she shuddered. And then… she told him her own story.

"It must be good to know your parents." Asuka sighed and Naruto snorted.

"My mom is a hothead. You and her would be good friends. My dad concerns too much in the world politics and my uncle is a goofball in disguise of a pirate leader. I should have listened to them. Then a crew full of good men wouldn't be gone." The blond captain said and looked up into the clear blue sky that started to darken.

"But without these experience you would have never meet your friends. One door closed, another one opened. Be happy with everything you have." She said and patted her temporally captain's back. Naruto smiled at her and waved her off.

* * *

"Our captain is head over heels into the fire chick." Ino squealed and danced around the table. The crew was happy that their friend found someone. All girls on their ship were already in relationships. Hinata and Kiba, Ino and Choji and the last couple were Sasuke and Sakura. The other males didn't bother to get a girlfriend because most of the already had their liaisons back home. The only really single on was their captain.

"Ino, be quiet." Sasuke moaned. The Uchiha had a bit too much booze the day before and still nursed his headache because Sakura denied him to heal a headache.

"But it is true! See! They are talking a lot to each other and he smiles at her! Not the normal cheeky smile. It is a smile full of love!" She said. The crew rolled their eyes and ate in silence.

* * *

They reached Drum and Naruto smiled at the sight of the _Red Force_ and the _Hirashin_. His own ship was docked next to these two and Naruto puffed his chest. The _Hi no Ishi_ was a sight by herself and for him she outclassed the other ships.

"Airhead, stop aweing at your ship and walk! It is freaking cold out here." Sakura growled at him and he dodged a swing directed at his head.

"Aw, Sakura, look at the sight! Ya know, we'll maybe never see the _Red Force,_ the _Hirashin_ and the _Hi no Ishi_ in the same port again!" He whined and she wacked her captain.

"Move!" Sasuke barked and they walked into the city. They just had to follow the biggest noise in the village to find the Yonkos. They had rented a tavern and now the crew members wrecked it.

"Kiba behave!" The blond demanded when the feral man's eyes glinted in joy. Naruto bit back his anger because Asuka had left them as soon as she spotted a fellow _Whitebeard Pirate_. Naruto entered the tavern and was followed by his crew. He felt the glances off the other crews and he searched for familiar faces. Soon he found the masked one of Kakashi, his adopted brother.

The silver haired man looked up from his cards when a shadow fell over his table.

"Can I help you? That is a private gathering." Kakashi asked and let one hand wander to his tanto.

"I am hurt, aniki. I am truly hurt. Don't ya remember me?" The blond said in a faked hurt tone and grinned widely.

"Naruto." The silver haired pirate breathed when he saw the marks on the blond's cheeks. "You are alive! You are truly alive! Your father never tried to hope that the pirate that named himself Namikaze D. Naruto would be you! He thought you died near Sabaody Archipelago!" The man said and hugged his little brother.

"Are we welcomed now? My friends are tired and would like to have one or another round of good old alcohol." The blond captain asked and Kakashi nodded. The crew scattered and took their places around, playing cards or bickering with other pirates. Naruto seated himself next to Kakashi and stretched his leg underneath the table.

"It is truly good to see you again." Kakashi mumbled and Naruto nodded. "It is good to be back."

They sat in silence and watched the crews fooling around, waiting that their captains came back.

The first captain that appeared was Kaido who gathered his crew and left ASAP. Naruto ignored it and waited for the next. Whitebeard marched through the tavern and was happy to find his daughter back in his crew. He and his pirates went to one corner of the inn and talked to each other. That only left Shanks' and Minato's crew with Naruto's own.  
The other captains took their sweet time and Naruto decided to doze off.

* * *

Shanks' forehead wrinkled at the sight of people he had never seen. He found 12 people that didn't belong to the Yonko crews but when his sight landed on a whiskered man that dozed next to Kakashi his concern vanished.

"Kushi-nee, look who is here to greet us." Shanks whispered in his sisters ear and gestured to Kakashi's table. The redheads eyes widened at the sight of her son who she believed was dead until know. Shanks gestured to her to silently get Minato and she nodded. The older Uzumaki gestured to Kakashi to leave which the scarecrow did willingly and seated himself next to his nephew. Soon a wide eyed Minato and a giggling Kushina followed his lead and they sat at the table. Shanks saw the eleven interested glances of the unknown crew and smirked at them.

"Naruto, wake up or you mom is going to kick your ass!" Shanks barked out and the blond nearly jumped.

"No, please kami, not the cold water mom!" Naruto screamed out and everybody in the tavern barked in laugher. Naruto glared at the usual idiots of his crew but he felt the aura of a lot of people he knew and missed.

"I am going to kill you, Shanks." The tall young blond growled and elbowed his laughing uncle.

Naruto turned to his mom and dad and his hard glance softened. He had missed them so much. Kushina nearly threw the table away to reach her son and she hugged him. Minato was included into the embrace and smiled softly at his family. As soon as everything settled Naruto told his tale to his family and introduced his crew. Most of them weren't too eager to greet the two Yonkos and Kushina personally so they only waved when their name came up.

"What happened to your hair, Naruto? Don't tell me that you are dyeing it!" Kushina asked sternly but the blond held his hands in surrender.

"The red streaks came after I awakened my Haki! They are naturally, mom. Shouldn't you be glad that I got something from you?" Naruto asked and she shook her head.

"Kushi-nee doesn't want her Sochi as a red head. I am hurt Kushi! My crew is named the ´ _Red Haired Pirates_." Shanks said in a mock hurt tone and snickered only to be smacked by his sister.

"That is your own fault. You clearly didn't choose the right name." She growled at her childish brother and waved him off. Shanks mock-cried and the two blond captains laughed at him.

Suddenly Edward 'Whitebeard' Newgate stood at their table and grabbed the youngest blond by his coat. The _Konoha Pirates_ jumped up from their seats and readied their weapons but Naruto gestured them to stay put.

"You are the guy that helped Asuka in Alabasta and brought her back?" Newgate asked Naruto who nodded and slowly gathered his devil fruit power. The tiny wind blades didn't do much to the hard skin of the old pirate and he scoffed.

"That would be me. Please let me down, there are three crews ready to strike and I don't want to cause a national conflict!" Naruto asked the tall man who let him back to his feet. The blond took a deep breath and faced the strongest man alive.

"I want a simple match, boy. Just to see how powerful the next generation of captains is." Edward asked and Naruto nodded against his mother's wish.

"Edward, please reconsider. I don't want to pick my son up in pieces." Minato tried to get the other Yonko out of his funk but the tall Whitebeard ignored his fellow Yonko and leaded their groups out of the tavern to a frozen lake that gave enough space for them. Shanks just patted Minato's should but the blond captain growled at him.

"Relax Minato. Both of them have to limit their powers because they are standing on a lake. Whitebeard just wants to test him. And Whitebeard's devil fruit is weaker than Naruto's Logia type. He cannot hurt your son physical." Shanks explained but the blond Yonko still scowled at the sight.

Naruto was surrounded by his friends. They have him tips that he didn't really needed our encouraged him to give his best. He would make them proud! Their concern warmed him and he smiled at every single one of them. Sasuke even gave him his trusted sword since Naruto let his own on the ship. The _Kusanagi_ was a tad to light for the blond but he could handle the katana since he and Sasuke tended to switch blades whenever they needed a heavier or lighter sword. He smiled when his wind element surrounded the already sharp blade and sharpened even more.  
Naruto looked up to Whitebeard who was twice as tall as himself. And swallowed the lump in his throat. That would be a fight he was going to remember.

"Ready?" Kakashi asked the two of them and received nods. He jumped out of the way and both pirates attacked. Edward's bisento clashed against Naruto's katana and the younger boy had to force a lot of power in his muscles to hold Whitebeard's strike but the blond grinned smugly when his wind grooved sharp edges into the blade of the other weapon. With a dark grow and another push of power he destroyed it and got a surprised cry from the watchers.

"Nobody could ruin my weapon until now." Edward muttered and threw the rest of his bisento away. They switched to hand-to-hand combat, Naruto's personal favorite way to fight, and charged their punches with their **_Busoshoku Haki_**. The blond smirked, dodged Whitebeards attack and in the last moment a dagger made out of wind appeared in his hand and he slashed at Newgate's bare chest. First blood was his.

"Enough. You showed me enough. Let's stop here before someone is getting hurt." Edward barked and he jumped back, the wind vanishing around his body. The blond nodded thankfully for the fight and sighed. It took a lot out of him and he needed to go back on **_Chakra_** to hold Whitebeard's attacks at an equal term. The young blond man knew that he wouldn't hold a candle to the experienced pirate in a real fight. The man had seen three times more of the sea in his 72 years and still could fight like his prime.

The _Konoha Pirates_ cheered for their captain and even the other crews clapped for the achievement that the youngest captain of these three could match with Whitebeard. Naruto smiled brightly and let his crew fuss around him. He gave Sasuke his katana back. The raven haired swordsman nodded in silent approval, and bickered with Kiba that the fight wasn't as easy as it looked like.

Then Whitebeard approached them again and smiled. The new thin wound that Naruto left in the man's chest wasn't bandaged but it already stopped to bleed. All of the _Konoha Pirates_ knew that a small wound like that didn't bother the tall man. It was just a scratch but the strongest pirate alive was proud that a pirate of the new generation was able to get first blood in a sparring match. A promising young captain non less.

"I approve your strength, **Arashi no Namikaze**. And i want you to take Asuka with you." Newgate said and shocked his own pirates and the _Konoha_ crew.

"Father?!" Asuka yelled but was ignored.

"I know about her plan to catch Blackbeard but I am not willingly to let a brat drag me around the globe for petty revenge. You on the other hand seems to like herding cats." Whitebeard laughed about his own joke and got a growl and a bark from Akamaru and Kiba.

"My crew is my family, Whitebeard. I endure them and they endure me!" The blond laughed back and ignored the protesting yells of his friends.

"That's the spirit!" Edward said and pushed Asuka on the side of the _Konoha Pirates_.

"We'll see each other again, Asuka. Maybe then you can match me a bit more." Whitebeard said and left. Asuka cried when she saw her old captain leave and Naruto comforted her in promising her that they would meet them again.

The crews moved back to their ships and Naruto laughed at the faces his parents and his uncle made when they saw the _Hi no Ishi_. His ship was still the most beautiful ship in the harbor. He commanded that he crew would ready the ship because they would leave the haven by midnight. Shanks walked next to him and snickered.

"From a nutshell to a ship worth for the next king of the seas! What a beauty. But what is up with the name? _Hi no Ishi?_ " Shanks asked confused and Naruto smiled.

"I am the wind to fan the will of fire. I am watching and defending my precious people and only together we can illuminate the world. It is a believing from the people in Konoha, the village I ended up after I shipwrecked. It may seems bold but I claimed that island and hopefully when my adventure ends I can settle down there. It is a beautiful place." Naruto told him and the red haired pirate nodded.

"With Asuka…" Shanks nagged and Naruto blushed which only increased Shanks laughing fit.

"I. Hate. You." Naruto said Naruto growled and tried to walk away but Shanks stopped him.

"Here, take this with you and raise the flag. It gives you my protection on the sea." Shanks explained and gave the blond a small flag with the _Red-Haired Pirates_ jolly roger but Naruto shook his head and gave it back to his uncle.

"I am my own man now, Shanks. I'll not sail under another pirates flag for all the money and protection one could promise me." The proud young captain said and walked to his ship. With a ´gust of wind the blond appeared on the figurehead of the _Hi no Ishi_ and waved him his goodbye. Shanks sighed but watched the young crew leaving the port.

He hoped he would see his nephew again…


	5. Chapter 5

_**We are starting a revolution**_

The _Hi no Ishi_ sailed peacefully through the day. Their course would bring them near the Sabaody Archipelago were the last sign of Blackbeard's crew was seen. Until then the crew relaxed or did what they usually did.

Sasuke was somewhere under deck and trained his swordsmanship to stay as sharp as his blade. The raven haired man wasn't one to slack off like Shikamaru. The raven haired man wasn't one to slack off like Shikamaru.  
Said man relaxed on some bedrolls, they normally used when they stayed on land longer than a few hours, behind the steering wheel and gazed into the sky. The navigator called it cloud watching.  
Next to Shikamaru relaxed his best buddy and the cook of the crew Choji, happily munching his usual chips.  
Neji and Lee sparred on the main deck and Kiba was the referee. Akamaru slept next to his master and growled in his sleep, most likely hunting cats.  
Most of the girls sat in their usual gossip round on the bow deck of the ship.

Only Asuka didn't know what to do. She still needed to expand her friendship with them but it felt like that wouldn't happen anytime soon. The only one she could connect to was the captain and she didn't know where Naruto was. The raven haired girl sighed and decided she could use a bit of sleep herself. The best place would be the crow nest.

To her surprise someone already slept there and it answered her question where Naruto was. The captain slept bare chested and peacefully, feet hanging over the crow nest rail and his headband, one she got herself some days ago, over his eyes. She fought against the blush that crept up her cheeks and climbed to the next crow nest of the mizzenmast.

Unknown to her the blond only dozed in the sun. He felt her presence and his lips twitched into a smile when the air around the crown nest slightly heated up. But too soon the warmth left him and he sighed. He stretched and his toes splayed out. Yawning he turned himself around and let the sun toast his back. Soon sleep claimed him again.

An hour or two later Shikamaru shouted for him and the blond dragged himself down to his crew. Everybody gathered curiously around the navigator who held a letter that was brought by a sea bird to them.

"It is a letter from Temari. Read." His second mate demanded and Naruto read over the letter from their neighbor island. After these few lines he growled and looked to Shikamaru.

"Set course to Suna. We have to start a revolution." He ordered and they nodded. The navigator went back to his steering wheel and the crew set full sails. Naruto watched like a hawk over his crew. Asuka came to him and wrinkled her forehead.

"I thought we are sailing to Sabaody Archipelago?" She asked irritated and Naruto shook his head.

"Friends of ours have problems with the Marines. They try to let a whole village starve to get their land for a new base. Not only our friends are in danger but our home port too, Asuka. If I need to wager your revenge against the safety of my people I decide for my people. I am sorry." The blond captain explained to her and wanted to meet Shikamaru to get a plan working for them but Asuka rammed a fiery finger in his chest.

"You promised me we would go after Blackbeard! Why waiting that he can escape again?" She growled and poked him again. He endured the burn, because his wind element wouldn't help against her fire, and starred her down. In his ears waves crashed and thunder boomed, his own anger getting a grip on him. Seawater crashed on deck and weakened both of them. Asuka spluttered and shook the water out of her hair, trying to heat herself up but the sea was unforgiving to the evil fruit eater.

"Do not anger me, Portgas D. Asuka. I might be your friend, but I am your captain too. Blackbeard can wait. My ship is faster than his and we can catch him again. Until then, stay put." He growled deeply and she shook under the pressure he put on her mentally. Her eyes met his and she winced back from these slitted cold eyes that remembered her of a demon from Dandan's stories. Slowly she nodded and Naruto rushed away.

* * *

Asuka stood there nearly half an hour, shivering in fear and dripping from the seawater came out of nothing. She knew she shouldn't have tested his patience and help him instead. The crew already promised that they would help her with everything they had but she needed to follow their captain's line of commands.

Suddenly someone approached her and gave her a warm blanket.

"Naruto is one of the best captains a young crew could wish." Her fellow raven haired said. Sasuke signed her to follow him under deck and she walked after him.

"But when you anger him, you should jump over board before he gets you. He puts family, friends and crew above himself and these Suna idiots are friends and Temari is Shikamaru's fiancée. That makes them family too. The next thing is the whole seawater thing. Naruto hates to fully use his power but he could easily beat every devil fruit eater on the planet if he has to because he is a _true storm._ You think he got his moniker _ **Arashi no Namikaze**_ because of the wind? Sorry to disappoint you but he can call thunder and water too, he just prefers the wind because he thinks it is stealing from his dad if he use flashes and I don't need to remember you that water is something he don't wish to control. It weakens him like every other devil fruit eater and is a last straw attack. That he called it because of you pushing your luck is meaning that he is hurt with your actions." Sasuke explained it to her and placed her next to the heater. Slowly but steady Asuka felt her powers return and she sighed.

"Why? Why is he putting his crew above himself?" She demanded to know and the Uchiha sighed.

"He told you his story. We think that the hole that his first crew left in his heart is forcing him to fight for us like his own life isn't worth to survive without us. We'd do the same for him but he doesn't need to know." Sasuke said and pushed a plate full of food to her.

"Eat. Choji doesn't mind as long as you don't eat the whole food supplies." He demanded from her and she slowly began to eat. Approving the Uchiha nodded and left her alone to ponder about what was said.

* * *

The sun dawned at the horizon when she dared to come back on the main deck. The crew seemed to lazy around once again. Naruto sat on his usual spot on the figurehead and seemed to be concentrated. She walked up to him and leaned on the rail next to the snarling fox-head.  
Asuka felt the wind carrying them fast and the big ship pulled them through the sea.

"I am sorry that I snapped at you…." The blond said and opened one eye. "Seawater is never a good feeling for one of us. The winds refused to answer me as long as I was dripping wet." He chuckled dryly. The raven haired fire-woman smiled warily and nodded.

"It felt so strange. I never felt so powerless." She grumbled and he nodded.

"I am sorry that I used my curse on you too. You shouldn't have seen that." He sighed and leaned back so he could see her more.

"A curse?" She asked and knew that it was a private matter.

"Ah yes. There are 9 cursed people out there. We are hidden for most of the time but the World Government calls us 'Demon Carrier'. They say the same about devil fruit eater but we are the true demon carrier." He explained to her and Asuka swallowed the lump in her throat. She always thought with her linage she was the child of a demon but being called a 'demon carrier'… She and Naruto had more in common than she thought.

"Stop brooding around freckles. As long as I stay in control of my anger you'll never see the fox. But it could happen that I need to face my demon sometimes during our adventure." He chipped and she gave him an amused smile. They laughed together and sailed on.

* * *

Canon fire and roaring commands shook the _Hi no Ishi_. Three ships under the sign of the Marines tried to fight the bigger pirate ship off. Too bad that the winds refused to serve them and they stood at the mercy of the _Konoha Crew_. Asuka laughed at their face when _Hi no Ishi_ cruised past them and stray cannon balls hit the enemy ships to give them a bit of damage. She set the sails of the Marines in flames and her captain cut them with wind blades. That would teach the Marines to block the entrance to the only supply way of Suna.

Naruto sighed when they finally reached the canal that leads them directly to Sunagakure. For the crew it was nothing new because they sailed that particular canal already twice.

Soon the gates to the port came in sight and the crew put the sails away. With the current they came into the merchant port of Sunagakure where they were greeted by three familiar faces. The _Konoha Crew_ started to unload some supplies and the thankful people of Suna took them. Asuka stayed on the ship and watched Naruto brotherly hug a red head who seemed like he didn't get enough sleep. Her gaze wandered to the ship next to them. It was a warship with a dragon as figurehead. She whistled. It seemed like the Revolutionary Army was here too.

"Asuka! Come, we are needed in the city." Naruto called for her and she jumped on the peer to follow her captain. Gaara leaded them to the 'base of revolution' silently talking with Naruto over plans they had already made. It saddened him that the people of Suna were starving because of the corrupt daimyo who tries to sell the land to the World Government.

They meet Monkey D. Dragon in the Kazekage Tower. Dragon watched the pirates enter the place and nodded in acceptance. They were fighters and he already read the wanted poster of all of them. _Arashi no Namikaze, Susanoo no Sasuke, Cherry Doc Sakura, Maindo no Ino, Tanku no Choji, Kage no Shikamaru, Juken no Neji and Hinata, Goken no Lee, Buki no Tenten, Yajuu no Kiba_ and _Kikaichu no Shino_ together held a bounty over Belly for the whole crew, excluding the newest member _Fire Fist Asuka_. It was an impressive total bounty, nearing the bounties of the weakest Yonko crew but nowhere the bounty on his own head.

He followed the _Konoha Crew's_ record ever since they appeared in the middle of nowhere, causing havoc with the Marines. They had revolutionary traits within them and he needed someone who openly fought under the flag of the revolutionary army.

"Asuka?" A new voice asked and the leaders looked to the newcomer. He wore a large black top hat with a pair of blue goggles wrapped around it, a blue jacket with the sleeves rolled up, a cravat and a pair of light blue cyan shorts held up by a belt with an elaborate flower-design buckle.

The freckled girl smiled brightly at the blond revolutionary man and hugged him.

"Hey Sabo! Oh man I am happy to see you. Luffy and I thought you were dead." She wailed.

"Sabo!" Dragon barked. He had enough of that drama.

"Clear that outside." The tattooed Monkey D. Dragon ordered and these two disappeared.

Naruto chuckled and went back to work.

* * *

The _Konoha Crew,_ minus Asuka who vanished, was on edge. Dragon held them back, said they should wait until the daimyo wants to visit them a last time to attack. The ignorant man announced his arrival in 5 days. For Naruto it was a long time until then and he was restless.

"Relax Naruto." Ino tried to calm their captain down but Shikamaru snorted.

"He is going to throw everything over board." The navigator grumbled and the crew sighed. It would end that way, they already knew.

"I don't like the idea of letting a daimyo who allied himself with Marines that near of civilians. Things are going to be messy." Sasuke said and the others agreed. Fighting in a village like Suna was always risky. Nanohana already experienced three Logia type fighter and they risked the lives of many people there.

"We are moving." Naruto declared and the crew sighed. They had it coming. Together they went to their ship and grabbed their weapons, everything they could use. They met Asuka on the way. The girl was curious in what was going on. Sabo wasn't happy to hear that the _Konohans_ left on they own accord but it made him even angrier that Asuka hooked herself up in the arm of the blond leader and decided to go with them. She waved him and followed the crew into the desert.

Sabo cooked inwardly and searched for Dragon. The problem was that the most wanted man was hard to find and so it took him nearly 4 hours to find said man.

"Dragon! The _Konoha_ _Crew_ decided to leave. They are on the way to…"

"I know, Sabo. Kazekage Gaara already informed me. That's why we are moving now. He warned me that their captain wasn't going to wait or following my command. I tried to get him more than once to join our thing but he seems to have his own dream and ambition." Dragon said and lead his revolutionary army and these who want to face the daimyo out of the village.

* * *

The _Konoha Crew_ found themselves again in a big chaos. Three Vice-Admirals came to take over the rebellious Suna. Vice Admiral Stainless, Cancer and Doberman leaded hundred nameless Marine thugs into the war against the desert village.

The blond pirate captain knew every of these three from his time as rookie officer in Marineford and they regionzed him too.

"You are foolish enough to switch sides, Uzumaki." Cancer growled.

"It is Namikaze D. Naruto now, Cancer. I have no respect for traitors who are sacrificing their own people. You are foolish to believe that you can fight a village full of rebellious people who give a shit about the Navy." Naruto yelled and his crew readied their weapons. Pistols, katana, teeth, claws and devil fruit powers were showed openly.

"You think, that 13 of you can fight against hundreds of Marines? Are you nuts?" Doberman questioned his sanity.

"Oh, you'll see how capable we are! Attack!" Naruto cried and the pirates shouted their war cries. Chakra fueled Haki pressured the weaker minds into unconsciousness. An energy warrior appeared in the middle of the Marines and knocked them up. Naruto himself flared his winds, fueling the flames of Asuka who decided to join him as a tag team partner into this fight.

Asuka didn't enjoy killing the Marines. She knew that nobody of the _Konoha Crew_ did, but she enjoyed the heat of a good fight. She followed Naruto through the battle to their first real fight, Cancer. The Vice-Admiral gave them a good battle, swords clashing but at the end the Admiral had to retreat when his sword broke under the force of Naruto's wind blade. During that time she forced Stainless back and gave him a mark to remember.

She noticed that the Revolutionary Army came fast in their vehicles to aid them in their fight. Asuka signed Sabo, who ran up to them as soon as the vehicles stopped, to fight with her.

The first _Konohans_ to retreat were Neji, Lee, Tenten, Sakura and Hinata. Some of them were wounded or out of breath and found safety behind the vehicles. Their captain knew that not all of them could fight as long as he and Sasuke did and sooner or later nearly the whole crew assembled and waited for the fight to end.

Hours went on and The Revolutionary Army, Naruto, Sasuke and Asuka still battled against the Marines. Cancer and Stainless came back full power and Doberman still had a bit of endurance left.  
Sasuke was the next to retreat. Cancer, Stainless and Doberman teamed up in a last attempt to get control over the battle. The three crossed their swords and slashed downwards to their enemies.

Cancers sword clashed against Naruto's blade and broke. Doberman's blade met Asuka's flames and burned the hands of the Admiral. Only Sabo, who wanted to impress his sister with his strength, struggled. His weapon of choice, a metal pipe, wasn't the best in this combat. Stainless pushed him back and destroyed his pipe with another slash but the blond revolutionary was rescued. Naruto gave him a concern glance before he rammed Stainless his shoulder in the Admiral's stomach. The Marine stumbled back and dodged the pirate captains wild swing. The Marine fled, ignoring the whimpering daimyo who watched the whole battle to the end.

* * *

Suna's people greeted the man with heated glares.

The tired _Konoha Pirates_ sprawled themselves on deck of the ship and slept 'til the sun woke them up on the next day. Yawning and stretching they walked to the Kazekage tower. Naruto walked in but the rest of the crew seated themselves on the entrance and dozed off.

The blond captain high fived Gaara who gave him a small smile. They were alive and well, the first merchant ships returned and soon Sunagakure would be a healthy village once again.

"It is our time to go." Dragon announced and the others nodded.

"I am going to leave too, Gaara. I promised a girl I would find a pirate for her." Naruto laughed and his friend wished him a safe journey. The crew and the revolutionaries returned to their ships and before Naruto could climb in the _Hi no Ishi_ he was called by someone.

Sabo ran up to him and breathed heavy. "I would like to thank you. I… You rescued my life and I was an ass to you. It's just… I wish that Asuka is safe. She is my older sister and was always stronger than me or Luffy. She always seems to carry our burden too."

"Asuka is strong on her own because she wants to protect her brothers, Sabo. Believe in her and she'll not fall. I think I know what you want to ask me next. I'll keep an eye on her. In return, take this with you." Naruto said with a bright smile and gave the blond young man a Vivre Card.

"Maybe together, pirates and revolutionaries can bring the world peace and the same rights for everyone. We can stop the corruption." The reddish blond said and walked up to his ship. With a breeze he stood on the figurehead of the _Hi no Ishi_ and waved Sabo his goodbye.

"Well meet again, Sabo. You, Luffy, Asuka and me. Together we are going to raise hell in the new world!" The blond shouted and they took off.

 _The flag of the Konoha pirates waved proudly in the desert wind that carried them back to the open sea._


	6. Chapter 6

**_AN:_** It seems like I'll keep that story up... It actually makes a lot of fun writing it. My sailor-heart demands me to write on the story whenever I have time to spare.

 _The Beta-Problem:  
_ I have no Beta. I reread 6 times before I post a chapter but I am not a native speaker/author and mistakes happen. Is someone out there wishing to correct the mistakes? I'll gladly send you chapters to pre-read them. Mail me!

 _Why gender-bend?_  
My question is, why not? I don't like a lot of the female charakters from One Piece for Naruto. I am not an harem fan and I'll never write any harem. Sorry. Gender-bend isn't uncommon in both fandomes. I read a lot of Naruko fanfics and some femAce too. I thought I'll give it a shot. If you don't like it I advise you to leave. Nobody is going to hinder you. I clearly wrote that this story contains genderbend.

 _Cleche:  
_ Ugh... I know that the ending of the last chapter was so cleche it actually hurts. I kept laughing my ass off when I wrote that. Look at all these One Piece Episodes that ended with cleches ! Why not using them for a fanfic? They are better than cliffhanger!

 _Naruto-Sasuke Friendship:  
_ I don't think that Sasuke has always to be a bad person. Look at the end of the Naruto manga. They ended up to be friends again. It isn't like Sasuke wont act up in the future but at the moment I need him as a good nakama for the crew. Keep reading!

 _Kind words and reviews:  
_ Thanks for reviewing me! Keep it up! I am glad for nearly every reaction. It feeds my ideas and I actually wish to keep the whole thing up. Thank you very much!

Enough said! On with the story!

* * *

 ** _An advice you should take_**

Naruto promised her. And now they were on the hunt after Blackbeard. Asuka could feel the thrill in her blood that they were finally on the hunt but they needed information since they lost the last tracks of Blackbeard when they aided Suna into their freedom. Naruto knew the man who had spies everywhere. His godfather Jiraiya, a man that was famous as the 'master of spies', lived in Konoha. He had spies everywhere, in nearly every city or village. Countless spies in the Navy were under his direct order.

"So, we are visiting Konoha?" Asuka asked. She wanted to see the island that was praised by the crew. It made her curious how the people were, if they were as friendly as the _Konoha Crew_?

"Ai, Konoha it is. A good advice for you, don't bath in the public bathhouse on middays. Peeping toms are the most active then." Naruto chuckled and Asuka 'tsk-ed'.

"They can try. I use the bathhouse whenever I wish." She declared and a flame flickered from her fingers. Naruto shook his head and laughed.

"I warned you. Don't say it is my fault when you end up in a porn book." The captain chuckled and she face faulted. Asuka sighed and walked away, leaving Naruto for a short moment alone. Soon Sasuke approached him and leaned next to his best friend on the rail of their ship.

"Don't let her out of your sight. I know that she is a strong headed woman but some of the older generation is lusting after powers like her. And others are going to like her exotic beauty." Sasuke advised him and Naruto sighed. He knew that he was going to chew on stones as soon as he brought Asuka with him to Konoha because people like the warhawk Danzo Shimura looked for all kind of talents and they destroyed everything in their path. Not only could that be a problem but everyone who got a pair of working eyes saw Asuka's linage. He had the same problem with his father.

"What do you suggest? I cannot order her to stay on the ship. She is free to go where she wants to go." Naruto growled frustrated. He didn't want to lose her to some old farts or someone who was after her looks. He felt like she belonged to him, to this crew but he didn't want to force her in liking or even loving him…

"Do it like I said. Stay near her. Watch her from the distance. Spent time with her and show her the island and maybe introduce her to the Hokage. Most of us aren't going to bother you as long as we stay in Konoha." The raven haired man told him and the blond sighed. With a thankful nod he dismissed Sasuke who smiled slightly.

* * *

They docked on their personal peer and were greeted by noisy people who wanted to see their famous pirates. Young kids, too young to travel the sea, cried their hellos and wanted autographs from their heroes. Naruto chuckled and ruffled a young brunette boy's hair.

"Come, Asuka, I show you around. Maybe we find Jiraiya today." Naruto suggested to her and she nodded. Slowly they made their way through the crowd and walked in the main street of Konoha. As soon as Naruto smelled the familiar smell of Ramen his stomach rumbled and he blushed. He rubbed his neck and Asuka laughed at him.

"I could use something to eat too." She offered and the blond smiled brightly.

"I'll show you the first place I visited when I was new here. Ichiraku serves the best ramen of the world!" The blond man declared proudly and she laughed again because of his antics. The fire-woman let herself dragged around by the wind-man and soon she sat on a bar-chair and the both of them wolfed down bowl after bowl.

"Bottomless pits." Teuchi, the old chef snorted and prepared the next meal. The stand owner knew that some of the devil fruit eaters are bottomless pits for food. Most of them need the energy but he could swear these two ate more than necessary.

"You said something, old man?" Asuka asked between two bites and he sighed. They were made for each other. Little did he know how much these two fitted the other.

"No, my dear, eat as much as you wish as long as you can pay." He said and Asuka paused. Did she have enough money? She watched wide eyed how her captain put a good worth of money on the counter and the man nodded.

"That should be enough, Teuchi. And a tip for dear Ayame." Naruto chuckled and got a dirty glare from the father of the waitress. Asuka's eyes became small with that sentence and something deep within her growled. She scoffed and finished her meal.

"Boss!" Someone cried and Naruto looked up from the rest of his own meal.

"Konohamaru, how many times do I have to tell you that I am not your boss?", Naruto barked at the kid and gulped down the last bits of his soup.

"That should be the 674th time that he told you that." Another teenager said to the now names Konohamaru and their female companion snorted.

"Shut up, Udon. Nobody wants a smartass." The brunette teenager defended himself but Asuka snickered. Sighing, Konohamaru turned back to the blond.

"Common boss, we want to be part of the crew! Hunting for the big fishes and a treasure! We can fight!" The young Sarutobi asked and Naruto shook his head.

"You are in no condition to fight on the _Hi no Ishi_ , Kono. You could start as Cabin Boy but we are not a crew of Marines. No, stay here, where it is save and bother the old man about joining the crew. Let Iruka-sensei train the lot of you before I even think about taking you with me." The blond man said and shook his head. He was in the same age as Konohamaru when he started as a Marine's captain but he was naïve back then.

"Iruka-sensei!" Konohamaru cried when he saw the scared man walk by. The three of them vanished with the teacher and Asuka let her held up laugher burst out.

"They are like Luffy, Sabo and me, a bit weirder but nearly the same." She chuckled and he sighed.

"And what role did I fulfill just now?" He teased her and she shrugged.

"You sounded a lot like your uncle right now. He refused to take Luffy with him, back when we were kids. I am happy he didn't do it, because now I have a brother who strives to become great." She smiled nostalgically.

They left the ramen-stand behind and walked through Konoha, talking to each other about things they had done in their younger days. Naruto had to shot some of the men in his age dirty glances when they leered after Asuka. Every one of them vanished as soon as the captain glanced at them.  
Behind his watchful back Asuka did the same. She didn't know why she did it but she growled at every girl that tried to approach Naruto. Her inner voice demanding that she should protect her what was hers.

 _Why do I think that he is mine?_ She asked herself. Asuka wasn't sheltered but until she met Naruto she was more of a tomboy, not bothering with female feelings and things females interested. She was a pirate by heart, a captain once. She held her head high in a domain of men. She knew some female sailors but most of the sailors on the sea were males. Feelings like that… She knew brotherly love but not physical attraction.

"…there are the hot springs." Naruto interrupted her musings and she looked irritated to him.

"Eh…" she smartly answered and he chuckled.

"My godfather is here, freckles. Want to beat up a pervert?" The blond asked her and she smiled brightly. He knew what she liked.

Together they sneaked up to the bathhouse and he helped her up to the roof where someone sat and spied the bathing guest. She wanted to help him up but he shook his head and signed her that he would watch.

Asuka felt like a ninja today. Silently she sneaked her way to the white haired man and let her flames lick her hand. She just needed to get his attention. A rather strange and wicked idea came to her and she glanced down to Naruto who watched her from the treeline.

"Hey there." She huskily said and got the attention of the peeping tom. Her shirt was on fire and slowly burned away. She knew she would regret it afterwards but she wanted to know how men reacted to her when she acted like that. The raven haired girl made sure that her flames didn't consume her bindings, only the shirt. Normally her clothes weren't affected at all when she didn't want them to actually catch fire but this time she willed her shirt to burn up.

The pervert shot away, leaving a trail of blood behind him. Asuka laughed and jumped down to her captain. Naruto blushed up a storm, his winds furiously dancing around him. He needed to get back in control of his emotions, right now! He looked away from the raven haired woman that gave him a bright thousand watt grin. Ashamed for his feelings he gave her his shirt and looked away from her body. Asuka took it and seconds later he dared to look at her again. That was ways better. He could walk around bare-chested but he would never let one of his female comrade do that.

"Was the show good for you?" She said in the same huskily tone and the captain of the _Konoha Crew_ blushed even harder. His cheeks heated up and he was ready to pass out.

"Where is she?" A new voice demanded to know and rescued the stammering young captain.

"Perv." Naruto breathed between his teeth but it was enough to get the attention of the man who they wanted to meet.

"Naruto! Did you see that raven beauty that literally burned her clothes away? I need to know her!" Jiraiya cried and shook his godson.

"Don't you dare to leer after my nakama, ero-sennin. She is off limits for your porn." Naruto growled and the sannin wailed about stupid godsons and unreachable beauties. Asuka snickered and watched the scene in amusement.

"I am, Jiraiya, the epitome of manliness! I shall fall for no woman's wiles! When you're me, you only need to flash that sexiness to have women fall at your feet." Jiraiya declared at the sight of the freckled young woman proudly and only got an embarrassed groan from his godson.

"My name is Asuka." She introduced herself to the man who kneeled before her and asked for her to burn her shirt again. She smiled sadly at him and shook her head.

"I don't think that my captain would approve if I burned one of his shirts. And I don't feel like it. I rather wish to know some information from the master of spies." She said and Jiraiya jumped up.

"What would I get?" The sannin asked her but a throaty growl from Naruto remembered the older man that he wasn't alone.

"I am not going to feed you to the sharks, ero-sennin. And maybe Asuka-chan isn't going to set you on fire." The blond muttered but it was enough to make the man shiver. He knew devil fruit eater too well and he could swear that Tsunade was one.

"Ok, brat, girly, what do you want?" The Gama – Sanin sighed and Asuka groaned at her new nickname. She hated it to be remembered that she actually was a girl.

"You got your damm spies everywhere, kyoufu. We have a name but we need his location." Naruto told him and Jiraiya impatiently signed to tell him more but Asuka interrupted him.

"Marshall D. Teach, known as Blackbeard. He killed one of my former nakama back in my time as daughter of Whitebeard."

"Kid… You shouldn't search after the devil himself. He is going to kill you just for the money your head is worth." Jiraiya said calmly but his voice trembled and he looked to Naruto, hoping his godson wasn't idiot enough to hunt after that man.

"I promised I would bring her to Blackbeard, Jiraiya. I keep my promises, you know that." Naruto said with a deep sigh and Jiraiya shook his head. It was already too late…

"Give me… one week. I'll have his location by then. A good advice from me… keep away Naruto. Her devil fruit might not be worthy enough for him to kill her directly, but yours… With your power he would be the conqueror of the sea in seconds." Jiraiya pleaded and the blond nodded.

"It is Asuka's fight. She wouldn't like me interfering with it."

"Damm straight I wouldn't like it." She declared and nodded her thanks to Jiraiya. Both young sailors left the spy master and Naruto leaded her to his favorite place in Konoha.

The sun downed over the small village and they sat on top of the Hokage Mountain. Asuka was thrilled by the sight. She could see why the land was called the land of fire because the trees seemed to burn in the light of the dawning sun. She wished Luffy and Sabo could be here right now but somehow she was happy with just Naruto at her side. Unknown to both of them they leaned to the other, lightly touching shoulders and sharing warmth. Naruto smiled lightly and took in all the warmth he could get. Asuka leaned her head slightly in his direction. She saw the tender smile on the young captain's face and she wished to keep it that way. It fueled her inner flames like his winds did whenever they fought together.

* * *

The week together brought them somehow closer. Naruto introduced her to many people like Academy sensei Umino Iruka, Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, Medic Senju Tsunade and many other people the small village was famous for. He introduced her in the way of using **_Chakra_** and he said that she had a lot of potential since she got **_Haoshoku Haki_** to fuel it completely. Her level was nowhere near as the trained original _Konoha Pirates_ but with time she could master it like all of them.

Soon their time was up. Asuka became restless and her anger at Blackbeard grew with every news they got about him killing others. Jiraiya gave them against his own advice the location and she nearly commanded the crew to come back and set sails the very moment she got the location. Naruto had to stop her forcefully, giving his crew the chance to say their goodbyes to their friends and families.

The _Hi no Ishi_ carried them to their next location. Banaro Island was waiting for them. It was a long travel and they meet Shanks once again half way to the island. Asuka wasn't happy that Naruto decided against her and commanded his crew to stop his ship. Shanks greeted his nephew happily and ruffled through his blond locks. Asuka huffed at the sight and walked to her quarters brooding about her plans.

Shanks did notice her behavior and the tired looks on Naruto and the _Konoha Pirates_ and sighed. The redhead knew that some people would jump for their love interest in their own death and his own nephew worked himself and his nakama into the ground to please the fire-girl.

"You seem to be a bit winded, Naruto." Shanks attempted to joke but only got a tired sigh.

"We have to reach Banaro Island soon. We got our lead and I want to put an end to the hunt on Blackbeard." Naruto told his uncle who nodded seriously.

"I know you like her, Naruto, but if she really wants to face Blackbeard, let her go. She is going to drag you and your loyal crew with her down and it is going to be your end if you keep following her. Asuka isn't ready to face someone like Teach. He'll eat her alive." Shanks advised and saw the lights in his nephews azure blue eyes dimming, like someone stole the fire in them. He had already seen that look, the look of a man losing everything he got. Gol D. Roger had the same look when he faced his end, and it made Shanks shiver in fear for his nephew.

"She is my nakama, part of my own family. Family sticks for each other, uncle." Naruto said and looked to his ship. The captains had a small dinner on the _Red Force_ and it seemed like it ended with that. Naruto walked up to the rail and jumped on it. With a sad smile he turned a last time to his uncle and said: "We'll see each other again. If not alive, I'll personally greet you in hell." And the reddish blond jumped over the gap between both ships.

 _The Hi no Ishi sailed into her unknown future and it seems like she wouldn't return to the sea for a long time._


	7. Chapter 7

**_Blackbeard_**

They reached Banaro Island right in time. Blackbeard's ship was docked in the port of the island and nobody seemed to be there. They brought Asuka to the island and the girl rushed away without saying her goodbye. It hurt Naruto that she didn't consider asking the crew to help her. He would gladly lend her a hand but that was Asuka's fight. She held the feud with Blackbeard up and Naruto knew that countless people, his own crew, his family on the sea and the folk of Konoha waited for his return.

"Set course to Konoha. We are going to refill our storage rooms and head for the new world." Naruto commanded gloomily and walked to his usual place and sat down on the figurehead. Sasuke and Shikamaru shook their heads at the sight of their captain. They knew that the blond had a hard time to give the girl up.

"You heard him! Back to work!" Sasuke barked at his lazy nakama. Muttering was heard and the crew did their job, setting full sail. The _Hi no Ishi_ left the port behind and reached her pace fast.

They didn't leave the island fast enough. Naruto looked back to Asuka's location and saw a flame tower erupt into the sky. He jumped from his position on deck and his chest hurt in pain. Something went terribly wrong on the island and he wanted to know what.

"Do we still have Asuka's sprinter?" He asked to no one specifically. The crew was unsure to answer him and looked around. Naruto narrowed his eyes at them; each of them didn't want to answer him because they knew that their captain was about to do something that could cost his life.

"Dammit I am going to look for myself." He growled and walked to the canon deck. The young Namikaze was right. There, under some tarpaulins, was the sprinter that Asuka had brought to them when she first joined the crew in Nanohana. He lifted the yellowish boat and brought it on deck, throwing it over the rail and jumping on it.

"Sasuke, the _Hi no Ishi_ is under your command as long as I am away. I'll find a way to meet you up in Konoha. I promise that I'll return!" The blond shouted and set the small sail of the sprinter boat. He forced his devil fruit power to carry him as fast as possible, not giving his friends a chance to catch him. The blond man knew that he was going to make the biggest mistake in his life.

Dark smoke reached into the clear blue sky.

* * *

"That idiot!" Sakura growled, watching the small boat disappear between the waves. She really hoped that he made it out alive. They needed them because no one of them, not Sasuke, not Shikamaru and no one of the rest of the crew could keep them working like Naruto. The blond was everything that held the crew together.

"Why aren't we following him? He needs us right now!" Kiba whined, his loyalty and instincts kicking in. Akamaru barked in agreement and Hinata and Shino seemed to agree with their boyfriend/ best friend.

"Because we have no chance against Blackbeard… We are a crew since two short years. Blackbeard is a sailor for over a decade. I know we are fast, we have the power of devil fruits on the ship, but without a strong leader, no offense Sasuke, we are nothing." Shikamaru explained and everybody agreed against their will. He was right, Naruto lead them in every attack and it was his endurance, his experience and strength that kept them superior to other crews and Marines.

"Then what will we do? I think that returning to Konoha isn't an option at this point." Lee asked and the others nodded. They waited from a command from Sasuke who sighed.

"We'll observe Blackbeard's ship from a safe distance." He ordered and the others nodded. Cries of turning the ship were heard and the sails needed to be changed. Hopefully they could get Naruto back soon.

* * *

The blond captain reached the island and jumped of the small boat. He ignored that it scratched over sand and he ran past the beach. Soon the young Namikaze reached the forest. People cried after him that he should stay away but their cries landed on deaf ears. He even ignored that his body already took his Logia form. He vanished with the wind and appeared near the battlefield of Asuka and Blackbeard. The sight of the bleeding girl kneeling in front of her opponent let him growl like a wild animal.

He cheered inwardly when Asuka stood up again, ignoring Blackbeard's hateful words that nothing could stop darkness.

 _Were darkness is, there is light too!_

"I would regret to follow a man who is after power. And I would never do something I'll regret!" Asuka declared, ignoring the taste of blood on her tongue.

"Your opinion is nothing worth on this world. It is sad that you decided to go against me, Asuka." Blackbeard sneered at her and called his power.

 **"** **End in endless darkness!"**

 _"_ _ **Dai Enkai: Entai!**_ (Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor)" Asuka yelled and both attacks clashed. Naruto had to look away, deactivating every bit of his powers and forcing himself to stay where he stood because both attacks released powerful shockwaves.

At the time when the dust cleared he could see how the battle ended. He didn't like the result. Asuka was down, bleeding and knocked out. Teach tried to reach her but he jumped in Blackbeard's way and growled.

"Don't touch her. You made a new enemy." Naruto shouted at the man. Blackbeard was tall, taller than him, shaggy black hair was scorched by Asuka's previous attacks and the man himself seemed to be burnt.

The sky cracked over them, Naruto's anger and the unused power in the air let the clouds power up and thunder boomed above them. The wind howled in the ruins around the battlefield, pushing back the lingering darkness of Blackbeard's **_Yami Yami no Mi_**. The man with the missing teeth grinned at him.

"And you are? " Teach asked the blond who bravely stood over his fallen friend.

"Your doom! Begone with the thunderclap! **_KIRIN!"_** Naruto shouted and pointed his finger on the target. Blackbeard looked up to the sky and gulped. A roaring dragon of thunder rocket in his direction and crashed in him. Naruto stood there, heavily shaking. The **_Kirin_** demanded his toll on him. He wanted to pick up Asuka and leave but suddenly something pulled him away from her. He twisted in the air and saw that Blackbeard's power pulled him.

" ** _Kaze Oogama!_** _(Wind Scythe)_ " The blond commanded and the winds formed two scythes, demanding blood from the enemy. Blackbeard was forced to push the blond away and threw him into the same rubble as Asuka before.

"That another devil fruit user is able to wound me is surprising." Blackbeard praised the blond who already stood up. Again he stood over the fallen form of Asuka, not daring to leave her side.

"She wasn't ready to face you. I let her go and it was foolish from me. But I'll defend my nakama, my family with my life." Naruto declared and this time wind and lightning formed themselves around his wrists.

"She still believes in Whitebeard, you fool. She'll never see you in the same position as him. Why wasting your time with a brat that doesn't want to be in your crew! You could join me and together we'll become the conquerors of the sea!" Blackbeard suggested but Naruto frowned and shook his head. He raised his thump to his headband and smirked.

"I am a captain of my own, Teach. I am not going to bow to any other pirate, Marine or the world government. The day I'll bow in front of you is the day hell will freeze. My name is **Namikaze D. Naruto.** And I am a force of the sea herself. I am **_Arashi no Namikaze_** and you! You'll bow in front of me!" Naruto declared. His **_Haoshoku Haki_** fueled with his life force pressed against Teach's willpower. The captain of the _Blackbeard Pirates_ growled against the force of the young captain. The previous fight and the lightning dragon injured him and he needed to end the fight soon.

Naruto cursed inwardly that he couldn't use seawater to end the fight right now. Blackbeard's darkness couldn't match up against the curse of the sea and it would bring him the victory over this fight. He was an idiot to use so much of his energy to reach the island as fast as possible and now he paid the price.

* * *

"Huh?"

Shikamaru sat on his place at the navigator's desk and looked up to a paper that the crew had ever since they started their journey. He was surprised that it was still there because every time they were in a fight the damm thing nearly burned his cards. Naruto gave it to him as a sign of trust, that it would always lead them back to their blond idiot.

It burned. The Vivre Card burned and ways to fast for his liking. Naruto was in great danger, it burned ways too fast. But then it stopped. 1/3 of the card was left and Shikamaru hoped that, whatever happened to their captain, it would end soon in favor of Naruto.  
Shikamaru walked out of the navigation room, Vivre Card still clutched in his hands, and looked to the island. Thunder boomed around them and the wind rushed inland. Waves became higher and higher and he knew that the blond called the full power.

He wasn't alone. Next to him stood the whole crew watching the winds ripping trees out and lightning clashing into the hills. They've never seen the full power until now…

"Did you see the fire storm clashing against that darkness? Whoever they are fighting is strong. Strong enough to destroy a ship with the flick of his wrist." Kiba whimpered and winced when a lightning bolt crashed directly on the island. The bolt itself took the shape of a dragon and they clearly knew that this was Naruto's doing.  
Again the wind picked up in speed. Even without sails their ship bowed dangerously at the power of these gusts.

It was too dangerous to try to get back on the island for the crew. Everything they could do was watch.

Something similar happened on the _Hirashin_.

Ever since Naruto visited them on Drum and gave his mother a Vivre Card she held on it. It was always in one of her pockets. The first time the Card acted up was shortly after they parted. It scorched up a bit and it made her worried but soon the card got back its original form and she was happy. Then, long enough, nothing happened. Is seemed like her son behaved himself and Kushina was happy.

They got news that Sunagakure, one of the five elemental islands on the edge to the new world, was liberated by the Revolutionary Army and the _Konoha Pirates_. They defeated 3 Vice Admirals and a bunch of Marines. It made her proud that her son's bounty was upped but it also made her worried. Now the target on him was bigger than before. It wasn't enough that his status as an ex-Marine made him already an enemy.  
Discussions over asking him to join the _Shichibukai_ were printed in the newspaper and she snorted at the thought of her baby becoming a lap dog for the World Government.

But then something seemed to happen. She smelled ash and she put the Vivre Card out of her pocket. It literally lit up and burned down and panic strokes her.

"Minato!" She shouted shakily and her husband came to her. He had seen her freezing up and wanted to know what happened. The sight of his son's Vivre Card let him gasp. That couldn't happen again.

"Kushina, give it to me." He asked her and took the glowing paper from her, fearing she could destroy it in her panic. He forced a bit of his own power into it. The lightning cracked a bit and one healthy edge of the paper turned north east.

They set their course to Banaro Island.

* * *

"They are nuts!" One of the town people shouted. They watched how their homes were turned into dust by the force of three fighters. The others agreed. Most of them had a hard time to hold themselves on the trees because the wind clutched on them and would scarified everyone it could get into its hungry maw. The fight was in a standstill at the moment but both fighters' powers didn't retreat.

Rubble crashed into the trees and they had to duck under some of it to avoid being killed by sharp objects. The remains of their village burned from the fire attack of the girl and with the young man's wind fueling them…

Naruto stood in front of the burning village. The inferno heated him up, but since the flames weren't empowered by Asuka it drained him. He couldn't really use them, but he could try.  
Panting he raised to his full high and the blond ignored the sweat dripping in his eyes. Blackbeard would go down!

"Too bad. The world government is going to be happy that I turn in the son of Yonko Namikaze Minato and the nephew of Shanks. And with your girlfriend on top of that they are going to reward me with the title of Shichibukai." Blackbeard sneered.

Naruto's eyes turned blood red, his whiskers darkened and his hair became even more untamed. His anger woke his curse and his curse was after blood. He roared, **_Haki_** purring out and knocking everything in its way down. The shockwave of **_Haki_** could be felt even in the East, North, South and West Blue. It took the shape of a nine tailed fox and for the first time in this fight Blackbeard feared his opponent. But at the same time…

"You have no control over your power, boy!" Teach shouted against the rushing winds and let his darkness fly into it. Soon they were circled in a dome of darkness and only the red ruby eyes could be seen in them. Blackbeard awed when lightning tried to crack his dome and fire caught in the wind.

The ground shook under every step Naruto did and Blackbeard could feel the power of the blond increasing drastically. He let his darkness consume everything and crash down on him and his enemy.

It was over…

Coughing up blood, Blackbeard sat up and saw the degree of destruction he had caused. The Namikaze was down, lying in his own pool of blood, next to Portgas D. Asuka. The brat had fought him on even grounds and during the imploding of the Dome of Darkness the reddish blond had got him with a wind claw. Half of Blackbeard's face was bleeding with the injury captain of the _Konoha Crew_ had inflicted to him. His left eye was gone…

"Damm brat." Blackbeard growled and signed his crew to help him. This time, the victory was his. And he didn't want to risk the blond brat and his girlfriend to team up against him. Impel Down was a better place for them and they would make him a wealthy man.

 _Vivre Cards burned dangerously down on several places in the world that day. They announced the beginning of something big. Something that would shake the whole world…_

* * *

 ** _AN:_** Do you like it? Leave a review behind! But please keep in mind that I have no Beta and I am not a native writer.


	8. Chapter 8

**_AN:_** Marineford is near! This time no fighting, but soon I'll try to give you an epic battle. I don't know how, and it is most likely like pulling teeth... But hey! I love writing the story! Sorry that the chapters aren't as long as in other stories but I like them short and on point. Maybe one day I'll rewrite some chapters but until then bear with the lenght. Still searching for a beta... why are so many betas incative but their sides says they are active?

Did you know... With over 21k words 'Marine's Mistake' reached the wordcount of a Novella.

Keep reviewing guys! I count on every review!

Enough with my rantings!

On with the story!

* * *

 ** _Facing the demons_**

 ** _"_** ** _Weak",_** _a deep voice growled. The creature let one giant paw crash against the ground and the whole place trembled. Water dripped somewhere in the dark place and drenched a young blond man._

 _"_ _ **The power of a storm, not enough to fight against an already weakened enemy. You are a fool. And now my life will end with yours. Idiotic human."**_ _The voice taunted and got a painful moan from the young sailor._

 _"_ _ **Wake up, Ningen. Face your demon. Face ME!"**_ _the demon demanded. Slowly the blond pulled himself up. This wasn't reality._

 _"_ _ **This is the place where you put all the trash, all the bad memories and every fear away, but most of all your hatred. Hate is what makes it possible for me to fight for you, Ningen."**_ _The creature explained and Naruto shuddered. He kept following the tunnel until he stood in front of a huge gate. Carefully he walked up to them but suddenly a clawed paw tried to reach him. Naruto jumped out of the reach of the monster and looked into two blazing red eyes full of hatred._

 ** _"_** ** _Damm you human! If I wasn't bound to your blasted race! Let me rip your poor soul into shreds."_** _It cried in fury. Naruto wasn't that idiotic. The young captain seated himself in the safe distance and forced this place to lighten up. It was his mind!_

 _"_ _You are the curse of my mother's family." Naruto told the creature plainly who barked out a sarcastic laugher._

 _"_ _ **A curse! Hundred years ago I was a blessing! Awakening in one of your kin made the Ningen into a living god. But mankind became cruel and hated each other. They didn't understand my power and started to kill their own sons. They declared me a curse. And a curse I became to whom dared to awake me from my sleep.**_ _" The giant fox explained to the blond and its nine tails waved in furry._

 _"_ _I don't understand." Naruto said and wrinkled his forehead. It doesn't made sense to him._

 ** _"_** ** _Why bothering with you. Your end is near, Ningen. Your life is fading and without a kit of yours my soul will return to hell itself."_** _The fox sighed and rested his head on its giant paws._

 _"_ _At last we could understand each other better. You don't seem that bad. Why is it possible that my anger and hate forces your power in me?" Naruto asked interested and got another sigh from the nine-tailed fox._

 ** _"_** ** _Because I am a being made out of pure hatred"_** _, it told Naruto who shook his head. No, that wasn't possible._

 _"_ _Where darkness is, there is light too, Kyuubi. I don't believe that you are pure hatred. You might hate my kin and nearly every creature on the planet, but there has to be something good in you." Naruto said and denied the fact that the fox only could hate._

 ** _"_** ** _You are the first human since the old days to respect me, child. Give me your name, maybe I'll remember it in hell."_** _The fox asked and the blond snorted amused._

 _"_ _People call me with a lot of names nowadays._ _ **Arashi no Namikaze, Uzumaki Naruto, Namikaze D. Naruto**_ _, but you can call me Naruto. Proud captain of the_ Konoha Pirates _and I wish to set my mark on this world. One day, Marines and Pirates will not be on each other throats for simple things and the World Government is fair to everyone. Slavery is banned everywhere. I dream for a place where I can see my brothers, sisters and family grow old." The blond declared, jumping on his feet and walking up to the cage. He smiled brightly at the surprised fox and rubbed his neck._

 ** _"_** ** _I am Kurama."_** _The fox calmly said and Naruto's smile threatened to split the young man's face._

 _"_ _I am glad to know you, Kurama. We could have become good friends. We'll see each other in hell!", the blond declared and faded away. It was time for him to wake up in the real world._

 _The true demons awaited him there._

 _"_ _ **What a strange kit."**_ _Kurama muttered and his eyelids closed over the red ruby eyes. Maybe one of the newest generation humans was bearable._

* * *

"Wake up." A rough voice commanded. Someone spilled a bucket full cold water over him and the blond came back to live with a gasp for air. He felt so weak. The sight of the massive seastone handcuffs around his wrists explained his weak state and why his power didn't return. His body was broken from the fight with Blackbeard… He had no idea how long ago that was but he knew he was in Impel Down. He had already seen it. At the moment they were on level 1 but the very same moment someone pushed him to the elevator.

"To see one of the most promising Marine captain turning into a pirate, powerful enough to be locked down in level 6." The voice said and Naruto remembered it. It was the same Rear-Admiral that had commanded him to sail in front of the higher ups.

"Rear-Admiral Sicily." The young captain muttered and the man nodded.

"You should have stayed dead. Now we are going to send your head on a silver plate to the Yonkos. You and the girl are going to announce the end of the pirate age." The Rear-Admiral spat and Naruto mustered every bit of strength to not spit the man into the face.

"Officers from Commodore to the Fleet-Admirals are nearly all corrupt. The age of pirates will never end. Not the pirates are bad, you are. I want peace with finding the _One Piece_ , but all I got is a free execution." The blond declared and received a punch in the stomach. His already broken rips made the punch even more painfully and he spat up blood.

"I think you are not going to survive to the date of your execution. Blackbeard already broke your body and your mind is going to break here." Sicily said in a nonchalant tone and pushed the young blond out of the elevator. Naruto stumbled and landed face first in the dirt. He coughed up more blood but a harsh hand grabbed his hair and forced him back on his feet.

"Force of the sea. I laugh. At the moment you cannot hurt a fly. I was honored with bringing you here but I cannot see the honor to chain up a broken man." Sicily told him and pushed him in the cell.

"That is enough, Rear-Admiral Sicily. I am going to chain him up." Another voice said and Naruto saw the tall figure of Vice Warden Magellan. He knew the man from his visit here as a Navy - academy student. Magellan chained him up to the wall, his hands above his head and even his legs were chained with seastone. Then they left and the blond dared to slip of into blissful sleep.

* * *

"…kill us, Garp. Better killed here than becoming a weapon for the Marines." Asuka whispered but Vice-Admiral Garp shook his head. The man wanted to visit his step-granddaughter and former student probably the last time. He wore his usual Marine-outfit and seated directly in front of the cell.

"It is already too late, Asuka. We angered three of the four Yonko. We know for sure that Whitebeard is on his way to Marineford to start a war. We angered the 'Ruler of the Sea'. I don't know about **_Akagami_** or the **_Kiiroi Senkou_** , but Whitebeard is on his move." The old man said with a sigh and looked to the broken body of one of his best trainees.  
Garp had grieved for the young captain when they reported him dead. He had laughed when some Marines declared that the young Namikaze was still alive and back. Garp even ignored the fact that the boy became a pirate. It made him proud that one of his 'family' tried to become a Marine at all. He had all but adopted the young captain as a grandson when he trained Naruto. He was someone he wished that his own real son or grandson would have become.

"I wanted you and Luffy in the Navy, Asuka. Maybe you and Naruto would have known each other longer than the two months you spent together. It is sad that you became a criminal." He told her but Asuka tiredly shook her head.

"We were fated to become criminals, Garp. In our blood runs the blood of the most feared criminals on the seas. And Naruto… I don't know why he even tried with his background.  
You know my father, Garp. I never wanted to share something with him. The moment I found out about my heritage I decided to take my mother's name because I owe her a lot." The freckled woman told the Vice-Admiral. Garp nodded, agreeing with her.

Both turned their head to the mumbling blond. He was in a bad shape, worse than Asuka herself. Blood constantly dripped from the mouth of the once proud captain of the _Konoha Pirates_. He was sunken in the chains, his head resting on his chest. Someone told her that he came to help her in her fight with Blackbeard. He actually wounded her arch-enemy badly but it had nearly coasted his life. It was her fault that he was here with her.

"I'll have to go. I am sorry, Asuka." Garp said and left her.

"He seems to regret that he couldn't convince you to join his side." Someone else said. She looked to the other side off her cell and to her surprise a fishman was chained there.

"Garp always looked over me and Luffy when we became pirates. Shortly before I faced Blackbeard I heard that Garp attacked Luffy after they destroyed Enies Lobby. If Garp truly wished to kill Luffy that day he would have killed the _straw hats_." Asuka told the fishman with a tired chuckle.

"My name is Jinbe, by the way."

"Captain of the Sun Pirates and **_Knight of the sea_**. Whitebeard kept you on the watch list. What happened to your position as Shichibukai?" She asked but he shook his head. Right now wasn't the time. Jinbe told Asuka the story how he get to know Whitebeard and that he feared for the great captains safety. At the end they were interrupted by Crocodile and fell into silence.  
She couldn't bear it long, fearing what might happen. Jinbe seemed to be asleep and she didn't know the other prisoners well enough. She looked to her friend. Naruto was awake and sweated in a fever next to her. She hated herself for the pain the young captain felt that moment.

"Naruto." She whispered and smiled sadly at the raspy response.

"Thank you. That you tried to save me. It is my fault that you are here now…"

"No…only…my fault. Should… have… planed my…. Attacks better. More control over my curse… and I would have been the victor…" He rasped and coughed. He saw her wincing and it made him sad.

"Ya know, my crew is trying to rescue me… Shanks and my parents most likely too, and Whitebeard is coming too… When we get out of that hellhole… I'll be you boyfriend. I have enough from… sneaking around. You are the most beautiful girl… I found out there." He declared and attempted to joke but his broken voice betrayed him.

Asuka stared at him wide eyed. Then she teared up and cried uncontrollably. That was the sweetest and stupidest declaration she ever got and it made the situation even worse. She would never feel him by her side. The only thing they would share would be their death.

"Shut up!" Someone shouted and she muffled her cries. Naruto's head rested again on his chest, signalizing her that he was at the end of his power. He was sleeping, to gain the bit of power he could to survive the next days.

"I'll be your girlfriend, Naruto-kun." She whispered and dozed off herself.

* * *

" ** _Naruto._** _" , the nintails called and the blond found himself back in his mind. Even his mental body was pale and his eyes lost their spark._

 _"_ _I am tired, Kurama." The blond said and yawned._

 _"_ _ **Don't you dare to go to sleep in here! In your shape you'll be gone forever before I had the chance to heal you!"**_ _The demon fox barked. He just had put the body of his host through a state of fever to kill every infection off and fought against the seastone to close the wounds and let the bones heal. Kurama knew that he took a lot of Naruto's reserves and his own power was limited as long as the seastone blocked his host's abilities, but he still could use his own power._

 _"_ _You are healing me? Why bothering?" Naruto asked curiously. He most likely would be executed soon…_

 _"_ _ **I still hope that someone is going to safe your sorry ass. As soon as these shackles are off, I am going to lend you my power to free you and your mate. Don't mistake me as your pet, Ningen, I still want to fight you to prove your worth for me, but death isn't an option now."**_ _Kurama explained his plans and Naruto's eyes widened. The blond watched the giant fox that seemed to lazily wave his tails. His head rested near the cage bares on his paws._

 _"_ _Can I help you? That your healing speeds up a bit?" The blond asked. His eyes lightened up once more and the fox gave an approving '_ _ **Tche**_ _'._

 _"_ _ **Stay alive. Don't give up as long as illness is shaking your body and let my power drip in your system. I heard that the execution of yours shall be held in 10 days. I'll finish my work in 5. Prepare to fight, force of the sea.**_ _" The fox commanded and Naruto saluted. The blond nodded thankfully and turned to leave the place once more. Kurama kept watching the blond and dipped his maw in the ankle deep water. The water turned bloody red and filled the whole place. With the blond willingly going through the painful healing, he could send his power in the young man._

 _"_ _ **Keep fighting, Naruto, I want to see you reaching your dream."**_ _The demon said and curled himself up in his tails._

* * *

"Fleet Admiral!" a Marine saluted. He just gave the highest Admiral his report about Straw Hat Luffy intruded in Impel Down. The man frowned and berated Garp that if wasn't a war hero he would get the ' ** _Iron Fist'_** for the sins of his grandson's. Garp laughed about that, he somehow was happy that Luffy still fought on.

"Sir, there is another problem!" A knew officer of the Navy reported and the Fleet Admiral frowned.

"What is it?" He growled.

"The Tarai Current, sir! A ship is riding on the whirlpool! No one has ever seen that. It stays in the direction of Impel Down and seems to wait for something. It isn't one of our ships so we assume that is a pirate ship." The unnamed officer explained and the Fleet Admiral blinked. He dismissed the man and the Admirals were alone

"How…?"

"The _Konoha Pirates_." Garp spoke up. He knew only one man who could sail whirlpools and come out of it unscratched and that man was looked down in the **Eternal Hell**. He should have known that the hardheaded kid would have taught his crew how to use the powerful currents.

"…"

"We have their captain. Sengoku. They most likely have a Vivre Card and followed him here. The kid's crew is good, better than most Marine crews, including my own. They are waiting for their captain to be brought to Marineford to strike. Until then they use the whirlpool as a safe place because the blond brat was the first and the only one to figure out how to sail these things." The old Vice-Admiral told and laughed.

"They can just sail over these currents… That student of yours could have erased us all, Garp!" The Fleet-Admiral yelled but Garp kept laughing.

"It is your own fault that you made the kid an enemy. You shouldn't have scarified him and the _Silent Hunter_ to blame **Red Hair**. That he and the **Kiiroi Senkou** are related to the brat could have brought us a major helping with the true rogue pirates." Garp said, suddenly serious and darkly.

Sengoku sighed and walked up to his desk, searching for the file of the _Konoha Crew_. Their bounty posters glared dangerously. None of them seemed friendly; a man that could use his power to become visible and a humanoid warrior; a girl that could destroy boulders with the flick of her wrist; a man that fought more like an animal than most Zoan-user and his loyal partner; another man with bowl hair cut that followed his idol's example and mastered hand-to-hand combat; a girl with scary sharpshooting skills; another man who can turn himself into swarms of bugs; a navigator with an IQ over 200 who could outsmart the smartest Marines; a girl that could use her **Haki** to intrude into people's mind; a cook who could turn himself into a human tank; two Hyuuga with the ability to see miles ahead and masters in hand-to-hand combat.

The bounty-posters of their leader stood out the most. They had used a photo of the blond's marine days first when he returned to the sea as pirate. The first bounty poster let the kid seemed to be naïve and not all that strong… Marines, who fought against him and came out alive, recognizing him, told the higher ups to change the posters. The got a new picture of the blond. They were surprised how mature the now reddish blond seemed. The photo showed the young captain in front of the giant ship of the _Konoha Crew_ , his headband with their symbol proudly on the ex-Marine's forehead, keeping the untamed mane out of the blonds face. He wore black shorts, steeltoed boots and an orange shirt. Over these clothes he wore a moniker to the captain's coat of the Marine, but it was blood red with black flames liking the bottom of the coat. The grim face remembered them who's kid the young blond was and that they'd fucked up big times.

 **"** **Arashi no Namikaze** … you became a demon because we forced you." The fleet-Admiral sighed but Garp shook his head.

"Naruto is no demon. I'll repeat myself a thousand times if I have too. The kid isn't after the One Piece because of the treasure but to force the others to listen to him. He spat into Sicily's face that we are corrupt. No comment to that, but he wishes to bring peace. I asked him once why he joined the Navy back when he was my trainee. He told me that he wanted to change. The kid is an idealist but he fights for what is right. The same counts for Luffy and Asuka. Both are not totally against us. Yes, they fight us, but they don't attack as long as we keep away. Whitebeard brought peace on _Fishman Island_ with claiming it. There are a lot of good man within the pirates." Garp said and sighed again.

"You sound like you believe in that lot, Garp. Think, before you speak." Sengoku snarled and the old man frowned.

"I'll fight, if the pirates declare war, fleet-Admiral, but know that you lost my friendship the moment you doubted me. I fought decades for the Marines. I knew Roger, I fought and beat endless pirates and you still doubt me. There is no Marine more loyal than me." Garp declared and left.  
He had enough.


	9. Chapter 9

**_AN:_** Start of the real Marineford Arc! It is hard to get it as detailed as possible because I needed to rewatch every episode. I took longer for one chapter than usually. Normally I sit 4 hours on my PC, writing and pre-reading but I literally spent 24 hours getting that chapter up. And there is no real fight in it! Oh lord, when it comes to the fights it will take me days... *crying* I am dead tired.

Please leave a review here!

On with the story!

* * *

 ** _Marineford, watch out!_**

It surprised Asuka to see the **empress of the sea** herself in front of her cell. Boa Hancock caused ruckus under the inmates of **Level 6** and the lovestrucken Magellan had to intimidate them with the three headed **Hydra** of his devil fruit's power. The inmates cried in panic and it gave Boa Hancock the chance to walk up to **Fire Fist's** cell.

During the panic nobody could hear what Hancock told the raven haired fire-woman but Asuka grew afraid of the news. She shook in her cuffs and stared in the air. After that, Hancock and the other Wardens left her alone.

"What did Hancock tell you?" Jinbe asked, trying to understand the shocked face of the girl.

"My brother… Luffy is here. He is fighting his way down!" She mumbled but Jinbe understood her clearly.

"The one you told me about?"

"Yes! Naruto? Did you hear, Luffy is on his way here! That reckless idiot…" She said and got a chuckle from the blond who awakened with the call of his name.

"I would have done the same." He said and surprised her. Naruto's voice was strong, nothing remembered them of the broken state her boyfriend was some days ago. She looked at him and awed. He seemed thinner but his health was better now. The bleeding wounds closed and his body didn't seem broken anymore…

"What happened to you?" She asked, surprised and happy… as happy as one could be, sitting in a prison cell and waiting for the own execution..

"I told you about my curse, didn't I, Asuka?" He remembered her and she nodded.

"Yes, I remember that you told me that you couldn't control it. What changed?" She asked curiously.

"You have one of the nine bijuu?" Jinbe interrupted, knowing the beasts from the tales of the fishman. They were legendary. Some stories told that they used to form the world they knew. Others said that these creature were beasts from hell, torturing mankind. He believed not a single one of these stories after facing the **Hachibi** and its host years ago. The man, Killer B, told him the truth about the beasts and that they were supposed to be blessings but mankind didn't accept power they didn't understood back in the old days and ever since then they were called curses.

"Ai. **Kyuubi** is stuck within me. He is keeping me alive and repairing the mess my body was until recently." Naruto said and gave them a tired smile. "He also believes that someone is going to rescue us. It seems the big furball can look into the future." Naruto chuckled and Asuka couldn't believe it but Naruto's better state proofed her that it was true!

"Maybe… maybe one reckless person is able to safe you, Asuka. Your brother is truly a force to remember." Naruto said and coughed. His body wasn't completely healed yet and he doubted that Kurama could repair every tiny bit of damage until the execution. But until then, they had to wait…

Time passed by. Naruto couldn't tell how long. But soon the first guards appeared and stood by their cell. They talked among themselves and ignored the curses from the other prisoners.

"Asuka, I don't know Hancock on a personal level but maybe she lied." Jinbe said and Asuka grew angry.

"AS IF SHE WOULD LIE TO ME... I am sorry Jinbe, but this kind of idiocy is something my brother would do…" she growled and Jinbe sighed. Naruto understood why she would be angry and afraid. Asuka still doubted that her life was worth to be rescued.

Alerted by her angry shout the guards stepped to the cell and laughed at their faces. "Soon you two are going to be executed. Magellan is on his way down to escort you to the Marines. We don't need war in Impel Down.", one warden told them and Asuka sighed. Naruto glared daggers at the man who ignored it.

He guessed that half an hour passed by when the elevator started to rattle. He and Asuka waited patiently for their escort to appear. Jinbe growled when Magellan and other wardens stepped forward, seastone cuffs in their hands.

"Portgas D. Asuka, Namikaze D. Naruto, you two are going to be sent to Marineford. There you should be executed to death." Magellan announced and the wardens roughly put the cuffs on and forced them to their feet. Naruto suppressed the urge to head-butt the man that grabbed him on the remaining collar of his nearly destroyed shirt to move him out of the cell. They walked to the lift and for the first time in days Naruto and Asuka were near each other. She looked down, her hope already gone, but he watched over her and gave her the strength she needed now. It was a subtle gesture that their shoulders brushed each other. The lift reached the top level and they walked into the hall. A warden walked up to Magellan and hushed a report. The chief warden found it amusing enough to tell it Asuka.

"Listen, Asuka, the sleep-gas was activated. It is only a matter of time until we can arrest the **straw hat.** He'll have your cell." The demon-look-a-like told them and Naruto gritted his teeth. That was cruel, even for a warden. Asuka turned around, back to the open lift and mumbled Luffy's name. She turned around, only to punch the first escort in the face. She kicked another one away from her and Naruto took the chance to finally head-butt the idiot that kept grabbing his collar. Both of them fought them off and run from Magellan to the open lift, but the chief Warden got them and pressed them to the floor.

"There is no point in escaping me. Your brother is a pirate like you and justice wants him to be imprisonment." Magellan told them and both soon-to-be-executed gritted their teeth. Some unnamed wardens brought them back to their feet and pushed them to follow Magellan out of the hall. For the first time in days they saw daylight. Marines already waited for them.

"In my function as Chief-Warden of Impel Down I give the prisoners Portgas D. Asuka and Namikaze D. Naruto to Marines." Magellan declared and the both of them walked up to the Marines.

* * *

The _Hi no Ishi_ still sailed on the whirlpool in the middle of the **Tarai Current.** They watched every movement of the Marines carefully and withdraw from Impel Down whenever a Marine ship patrolled there. They knew that the Marines already noticed them. Some even tried to reach them with cannon balls but the _Hi no Ishi_ was out of reach.

"They are moving." Neji announced and the crew grew overanxious. They knew that they couldn't attack the escort directly. The Marines overpowered them 20 to 1 but Boa Hancock contacted them that **Straw Hat** Luffy would need their help to escape. It bothered them to wait until **Straw Hat** passed the **Gate of Justice** but they knew that with Luffy's help they could save their crewmates.

"Set sails!" Sasuke commanded as soon as the gate opened. The crew jumped to their feet and worked fast. The _Hi no Ishi_ gained speed and soon they reached the badly damaged Marine Ship that the prisoners of Impel Down stole. The Gate crushed the stern of the marine ship and threatened to sink.

"Help them!" Kiba barked and they used all their powers to get everyone on the _Hi no Ishi._ The most prominent people were Monkey D. Luffy, Emporio Ivankov, Inazuma, Jinbe, Crocodile, Mr. 3 and Buggy the Clown. But there were a lots of okama (cross dresser) and other prisoners too.

"Uh! I know you!" Luffy happily said when they let the current carry them away to Marineford.

"Troublesome, **Straw Hat** we are the _Konoha Crew_. Our captain and Asuka are part of our crew!" Shikamaru explained to the raven haired captain who seemed surprised by the information.

"So you are on your way to Marineford too?" The fishman interrupted and the lazy navigator looked up to him.

"Yes. Boa Hancock gave us the information that Luffy is in Impel Down to free Asuka. We hoped that he could do it and bring her and our captain back, but it seems like he failed. We agreed to help him fleeing in return that Boa Hancock wouldn't fight against us in the upcoming war." Sasuke told them and got cries from those who thought they would be free now.

"Are you nuts? Fighting in a war with Yonkos and the Marine!" Buggy the Clown cried and others nodded.

"Either you fight, or you can try to swim." The temporary captain of the _Hi no Ishi_ growled and used a bit **Haki** to mark his point. It frightened those who wanted to start a revolt on the ship.

Soon they sat in their groups, old captains and nakama, long lost friends and family together and chatted among themselves. Luffy sat with the _Konoha Crew_ and Jinbe together near the steering wheel and formed their own plan to free Naruto and Asuka.

"Luffy, it is most likely that we are stopped very soon. The **Shichibukai** , hundreds of Marines and the Admirals are waiting in Marineford, prepared for war. The _Konoha Crew_ is backing you up and we try to give you a lift to the execution platform. Should we lose you in the fight we want you to free Naruto and Asuka." Shikamaru explained and Luffy nodded seriously.

"Here, take these. Three for you, three for Naruto and three for Asuka. They are called food pills and will give you short energy boosts. Don't you dare to use more than your ration because more than three are going to kill you." Choji said and gave the **Straw Hat** three containers with food pills. Luffy awed and thanked the big boned chef.

Shikamaru tried to explained the plan for the coming battle in detail but Luffy didn't listen to him…

It would be a long day…

* * *

Naruto remembered the time when he was a kid, having nothing to do in the waiting cell: climbing in the shrouds of his parents' ships, his mother always worried and his father laughing about him wanting to explore the ship. He remembered sleeping in one of the crows' nest on the _Hirashin_ and being happy whenever Shanks visited. Growing up as a young pirate was good but he wanted more. Something told him that he should try the legal way of a Marine. He had fought with his parents, telling them that he wanted to try, shouting at his mother that he wasn't a kid anymore.

Then he was under Garp's care and he never regretted choosing that way until the Marines shot his ship.

The blond ignored the men coming in his cell. They put new cuffs on him and demanded from him to stand up. He followed and walked in a safe distance to Asuka to the execution platform. It seemed like the stairs out of the HQ didn't end but then the portal opened and they stood there. Asuka kept waiting for her fellow pirate and both looked down to place of their execution. Fear grabbed both of their hearts but they kept silent and went on.

Naruto knew that place. He was groomed to a Marine 2 years in Marineford and he had visited the place once or twice. That it was going to show his own execution… He walked slightly behind Asuka to the massive pedestal and looked down. Marines… Hundreds of Marines awaited their execution. In the first row the three Admirals, behind them the foot soldiers. Their rows were closed by the 'dogs of the world government'. The five of the seven **Shichibukai** stood there and waited for the war. He wanted to spat them into the face for their betrayal.  
His two wardens crossed their executioner blades in front of him and he was pushed to his knees. It somehow remembered him on the stories his father would tell him as a kid about Gol D. Roger's execution.

The blond was surprised to hear someone else walk up to them and ordering the wardens away but his expression turned into a frown when he saw fleet Admiral Sengoku. His blood boiled at the sight of the man that sentenced a whole grew to death for nothing.

"Asuka, tell them the name of your father." Sengoku demanded from the young woman who frowned at the fleet admiral.

"My father is Whitebeard!" She declared with force behind her voice.

"He isn't."

"He is! Whitebeard is the only father I have!" She shouted, clenching her eyes shut and suppressing her own anger. Naruto growled with her, not seeing the point to press her into saying the truth. He knew... It wasn't that hard if you knew her story. He put two and two together and got four. He couldn't care less, the blond was a son of a Yonko himself and the nephew to another. He really didn't care about her relation to Gol D. Roger.

"The Marine searched a long time and everything we had was unclear information. We believed that a child was born to a certain man on an island. We examined every newborn, every mother. But we weren't able to find her. Your mother hid you with risking her own life. She fooled the whole world. In the South Blue there is an island named Baterilla and the mother we wanted was called Portgas D. Rouge. With the strong will of a mother and for the love of her child she went against nature and carried her child 20 months underneath her heart. It killed her by the birth of her baby. So came the child one year and 3 months after the death of the man to the world." Sengoku spoke and the marines seemed to be bluffed by that fact. Asuka rattled at her cuffs and clenched her teeth, growling like mad.

"That child was you, you know that, don't you?" Sengoku spoke to her directly, " Your father is no one else than pirate king Gol D. Roger."

It was the last straw for Asuka and she whimpered and shook in mental pain.

The marines mumbled but Marineford itself was silent.

Sengoku turned to the reddish blond young man and snorted at his sight. A Marine that turned to a pirate wasn't worth his time. The young captain was only good to rile the Yonkos up. He went back to Asuka.

"You took on the name of your mother and became the captain of the _Spade Pirates_. Your abilities grew and your name rushed ahead of you. That was the moment when saw that Roger's bloodline wasn't defeated. Whitebeard realized the truth at the same time as the Navy and took you in to form you into the next queen of pirates." Sengoku spun his tale and Asuka had enough.

"That is not true! I came to him, to make him the next king of the pirates!" She shouted in defense but the fleet-Admiral told her that Whitebeard wanted her to believe that. Sengoku riled the Marines up, saying that they would fight against Whitebeard with everything they had. The soldiers cheered and shouted for the words of their leader who turned around to get an urgent message.

The gate of Justice opened …

"They are coming!" Someone shouted and a whole fleet of pirate ships appeared in the mist that surrendered Marineford. Pirates from all over the Grand Line came and sailed to the war.

"They are really here." Asuka muttered and Naruto gave her an approving snort.

"They wouldn't let you die, hime." The blond chipped unnaturally happily in the face of death.

Waves rippled in the port of Marineford. It sounded like a whale emerging to take a breath. Every second that passed by rippled the water more and more and then…

The _Moby Dick_ came forth and docked proudly in the harbor of the enemy.

Asuka jumped to her feet and cried: "OAJI! You shouldn't have come!"

The crew of Whitebeard was lined up on the rail of the _Moby Dick_ and Whitebeard told her that it was his fault that she even hunted after Blackbeard. Naruto smiled over the brave act of the old captain, declaring that it was his fault that they were caught at all.

"That is bullshit!" Asuka tried again but Newgate denied that.

"I gave you the order, I pushed you to someone else that he could be faulted if something happened to you. Young Namikaze is the only brave one here, trying to rescue you… I did that, didn't I, Marco?" Edward Newgate said and the first Commander nodded.

"You did that. We gave you a burden, Asuka. And the world shall know what happened when Whitebeard's family is hurt. And the family includes future brothers in law." Marco the phoenix declared and the _Whitebeard Pirates_ cheered.

The Admirals, Marines and **Shichibukai** awaited the fight and were surprised by the tsunami Newgate caused but Admiral Kuzan froze the high waves. He even froze the harbor to prevent the pirates to come near. Cannonballs flew and the war officially started.

 **"** ** _Prepare to fight, Naruto!"_**


	10. Chapter 10

**_AN_** : Don't ask me why I didn't write a chapter the whole week. I had a short vacation and all I did was sleeping and rewatching episodes. And my energy level seems to be down 24/7. Every time I tried to write I just dropped in my bed and slept...

Don't forget, a short review would warm my heart and it really doesn't bite you for writing some words to me.  
Thanks for all the kind and funny previous comments on this story... and I am still on the search for a beta!

* * *

 ** _Previously_**

* * *

 _The crew of Whitebeard was lined up on the rail of the Moby Dick and Whitebeard told her that it was his fault that she even hunted after Blackbeard. Naruto smiled over the brave act of the old captain, declaring that it was his fault that they were caught at all._

 _"That is bullshit!" Asuka tried again but Newgate denied that._

 _"I gave you the order, I pushed you to someone else that he could be faulted if something happened to you. Young Namikaze is the only brave one here, trying to rescue you… I did that, didn't I, Marco?" Edward Newgate said and the first Commander nodded._

 _"You did that. We gave you a burden, Asuka. And the world shall know what happened when Whitebeard's family is hurt, yoi. And the family includes future brothers in la, yoi." Marco the phoenix declared and the Whitebeard Pirates cheered._

 _The Admirals, Marines and Shichibukai awaited the fight and were surprised by the tsunami Newgate caused but Admiral Kuzan froze the high waves. He even froze the harbor to prevent the pirates to come near. Cannonballs flew and the war officially started._

 _" **Prepare to fight, Naruto!** "_

* * *

 ** _The Konoha-Crew to the battle!_**

* * *

 _On the Hi no Ishi – some minutes earlier_

* * *

Kiba and Akamaru kept an eye on Buggy and those who wanted to not take part in the upcoming battle. Buggy told his followers a lot of crap und it was not once that Akamaru bit one of them. Those who knew better took a nap to prepare for the battle. They would need every energy reserve. Choji gave the _Konoha Crew_ , Luffy and Jinbe the Food Pills and tried to explain the bad effects they could take on them, if they ate more than one until the effect wore down or if they tried to eat these for Asuka and Naruto to get another boost. Jinbe thanked them and Luffy gave the chef a toothy grin.

Then a tsunami formed behind the pirate ship and some ex-prisoners shouted in panic. Sasuke eyed the roaring wave that threatened them and growled a curse. He turned around to Shikamaru who snapped out of his thoughts.

"Submerge the ship. That wave would carry us directly into Marineford and would risk that we are washed up on land." He commanded and Shikamaru nodded. He gave sign to bring the sails in the regular crew of the ship worked fast. Luffy watched in amazement and was surprised when the ship's bow started to submerge. The devil fruit user on the ship who didn't knew what was going on cried in fear of drowning but at the same moment the figurehead touched the water a bubble snapped around the ship and the _Hi no Ishi_ shouldered its way through the water.

"That is so cool!" Luffy cheered and tried to touch the bubble but Jinbe told him that it wasn't a good idea.

"So you met **Dark King Rayleigh**?" Jinbe asked and Sasuke nodded.

"Our captain thought it would be a good idea to make friends with former _Roger-pirates_. Shanks told him a lot about Silvers Rayleigh and how he used to create these bubbles for the _Oro Jackson_ to sail into the _New World_. We tried to sail into the _New World_ several times but were called back every time. The old man had enough of creating new bubbles every time and together we constructed something that we can use the bubbles whenever we want to submerge." Shikamaru told them. The navigator was better in telling that stories than Sasuke anyway. The young Uchiha wasn't that interested into their passengers and only saw most of them as cannon fodder.

"So I could get something like that for the _Sunny_? You know Shanks?" Luffy asked the pineapple-style haired man eagerly who nodded.

"If you say to Rayleigh that we allowed it he might do that for you. And Shanks is the uncle of our captain. Most of us only met him twice and every time just some hours but if make it out of the shit that is going on, than I am sure that we could meet up with Shanks when we bring you back to your own crew.", the raven haired navigator explained and chuckled at the toothy smile Luffy showed.

"How can you be so calm? You may act the way for Luffy but your captain's sake is on that too!" Jinbe asked the _Konoha_ navigator who raised a brow at the fishman.

"Who says that I am calm?" the young Nara retoured and Jinbe huffed at that cheeky answer.

More and more of the fighters woke from their naps and came to make themselves ready. Shikamaru signalized the crew that they made the ship read to emerge again. The _Konoha Pirates_ readied themselves, weapons ready to be drawn,

"Shit, ice!" Ino yelled.

"Tenten! Show these Marines what our ship can do!" Shikamaru commanded, ignoring the raised brow of Sasuke who watched in silence. The sharpshooter saluted and jumped under deck. The whole ship shook from a sudden power boost and the maw of the snarling fox – figurehead clicked open.

"Hold on guys! That is going to pop the bubble!" Lee cried and the devil fruit user looked desperate at the signal.

Seconds before they would crash against the ice the loading gun shot and a shook went through the ship. Everybody took a last breath before water crashed down on them and washed every fool who didn't listen to the command from board. The very next second the _Hi no Ishi_ broke through the surface, just behind the 4 flag ships of the _Whitebeard Crew_ , and the crew threw the anchor on the remaining ice.

And hell broke loose.

* * *

 _Execution platform - Marineford_

* * *

 **Hawkeyes Mihawk** was the first to make a move against the enemy-pirates. The two-soon-to-be-executed saw the **Shichibukai** exchanging words with Don Doflamingo just before he drew his sword and slashed a giant shockwave in **Whitebeard** 's direction. Nearly everyone watched the bold attack drawing closer to the leader of the _Whitebeard Pirates_. Some even cried for their father figure to watch out but **Whitebeard** seemed unfazed. The attack nearly reached the _Moby Dick_ but a commander jumped in and deflected the powerful slash.

"That is the commander of the third division **Diamond Jozu**!" A marine cried in shock. For the pirates it was a slap into the Marines' faces and encouraged them even more to go into the battle. Both Marines and pirates shouted their warcies and rushed forward.

Sengoku still stood next to the pale Asuka and muttered something about a foolish tactic. He walked up to the edge of the platform and watched some seconds.

"You are an idiot to believe that they are going to give up, Sengoku. Asuka is part of their family and other than the Marines nothing can replace a nakama in a pirate's family! They are going to fight you and everyone in their way 'til they drop dead or win! That is what pirate crews bonds together!" Naruto shouted at the fleet Admiral who watched his men to be slaughtered by their fellow pirates. Every single pirate down their believed in that and would defend what is theirs.

"Shut up, Namikaze. I don't see your crew down there, or Shanks and your father. You have no right to talk." The Fleet Admiral bit back and the blond yanked at his chains when he jumped forward to strangle the man. He couldn't reach him and had settle for a feral growl that came from deep down of his throat. One of the executioners, who still was near, put him back on his place, pushing the blond on his knees and warninf him that he shouldn't worsen his state, but the young Namikaze ignored it.

"You are a snake in the grass, Sengoku. You believe in ultimate justice but your justice is wrong!" The blond spat and let his unruly hair shadow his eyes. He could wait a bit longer. Naruto knew that his crew was coming.

Ignoring the words of the Namikaze Sengoku raised the _Den Den Mushi_ and ordered that the artillery should be readied. They fired on the ships outside of the bay. Another command was for the first line to not let them break through. Cannonballs flew through the rows of pirates and demanded the first tributes. Admiral Kizaru stood up and said that it was unbelievable.

"The commanders of the _Whitebeard Pirates_ are true monsters. What do you think, Akainu?" The Admiral asked but got no response from his fellow. Kizaru ignored it and stepped forward.

"It would be the best to behead the snake to not risk anymore lose." Kizaru declared and turned into yellow light. He vanished in a flashy show and left Akainu alone to reappear as a blinding light in the battle. His body reformed just a bit away from the _Moby Dick_ and he initialed his attack.

Naruto saw Whitebeard something saying but he couldn't hear it. A blue fire jumped in between the attack and Whitebeard. A shadow appeared in the light attack and the silhouette of a phoenix showed itself. The shockwave formed a strong wind current that ripped on Whitebeard's captain-coat.

Kizaru was slightly confused about what had stopped his attack but Asuka knew who it was. Her 'brother' Marco, the legendary phoenix smirked at the attempt of the Admiral and shouted: "Bad luck for you, yoi! You shouldn't go for the kind at the beginning, yoi."

"That's Marco for you." Asuka muttered under her breath but Naruto understood her good enough and chuckled. They watched the fire-bird transform completely and heading for his own attack. The Admiral attacked him but the light bullets seemed to not hurt the phoenix at all and Marco kicked Kizaru who tried to block the attack but the Admiral was sent right into the walls of Marineford. Kizaru returned back into the rows of the Marines and told them something that the two on the execution platform couldn't understand.

"Giant-unit! Watch out for the sky!" Kizaru ordered and the giants roared in anticipation.

They watched Jozu rip a giant piece of ice out of the frozen ground and throw at to the remaining Admiral. Akainu who seemed to be unfazed by the whole battle looked up for the first time and saw the ice flying his way. Akainu stood up from his place and muttered some curses but watched up to the ice-berg that rocketed into his direction. Pirates and Marines watched the ice and the reaction of the Admiral who's hand turned into bubbling magma. He punched the thing and it went into thousand pieces, melting it in the process. The pirates were shocked and had to retreat from the incoming magma bullets. One bullet headed straight for the _Moby Dick_ but Whitebeard deflected it with his bisento.

"With that trick you just can lighten up candles on a children's birthday." Sneered Whitebeard.

The Marines ordered to sink the remaining 3 ships of the _Whitebeard Crew_ and fired cannonballs. Countless crashed into the ships, others were deflected by the commanders and Whitebeard. And then… A giant shadow emerged from the mist that still surrounded Marineford. A giant headed straight for the execution platform and destroyed some of the warships. The giant gave a mighty roar and the pirates cheered for their support. The Marines panicked at the sight of one decedent of **Oars the Devil**.

"Oars! NOO!" Asuka cried for her friend who said that he came for her rescue and he wouldn't back down until he got her save. Naruto, for the first time, questioned the companions of his girlfriend but he was glad that someone as mighty as Little Oars Jr. appeared to fight.

The Marine Giants stormed forward. They wanted Oars dead but the giant waltzed through another warship and ripped its mainmast off like a toothpick. Cannonballs didn't harm the giant who grabbed the ship.

"Oars! Please run! I don't want that you are killed because of me!" Asuka yelled but the giant ignored her, telling her he's on his way. He ripped the warship out of the ice and threw it at the Marine giants who couldn't deflect it. It also gave the pirate ships an opportunity to come near. The giant made his way, pushing the chanceless Marines out of his way.

Naruto and Asuka had to watch how a single attack of Kuma brought the giant nearly to his knees and Asuka shouted again that he shouldn't come near anymore. The giant still ignored her pleadings and headed for her. This time the cannonballs affected the already injured giant and he saw that there was no chance in the nine hells that he could reach her. Oars Jr. went for Doflamingo who dodged the attack with easy and cut one of the giants legs. Oars went to his knees but still tried to reach for Asuka, telling her he would be there in just a few seconds and rescue his friend, but a last attack from Gekko Moriah stroke the giant down. The dying giant still tried to reach her and Asuka had to watch desperate how the once prideful giant went down. Tears filled her eyes and Asuka choked on her breath, seeing the giant still trying to reach her on the edge of death.

Whitebeard's anger raised a new level with the death of the giant. A Marine tried to use the situation for a sneak-attack but the overgrown human deflected the axe with his power and destroyed it in the same breath. The shocked Marine had no chance when the captain grabbed him and killed the man, only to throw him back into the rows of Marines. But the pirates used their chance too, attacking with their anger fueled their power and the slaughtered every Marine in their way to the platform. The death body of the giant was used as ramp to the main field of Marineford.

Asuka was too deep into her grief to listen to Sengoku but Naruto could hear bits and pieces of it and he didn't like it. Their execution would be sooner than planned. Suddenly someone stepped up to them and both Asuka and Naruto looked up to the aged face of Garp who seemed to be bothered by the whole situation.

"Gramps." Asuka muttered, still tearfully and Naruto bowed his head slightly to the only Marine he respected.

"What do you want, Garp?" Sengoku asked and seemed to be angry. "Do you want to help them?"

"No." Garp responded, "They are pirates and they do not deserve merci."

"Then you should…"

"Shut up! I am sitting with my grandson and my student. I hope you to have nothing against that, Asuka, Naruto." He interrupted the Fleet Admiral boldly and sat between the two young pirates. Sengoku ignored it and Garp started to cry next to his two ex-charges.

"What should I do!?" Garp cried and shook tearfully. Both Asuka and Naruto watched him tearing himself up over old memories and asked Asuka why she didn't do what he had told her or Naruto why he hadn't returned to the Marines. The first time in the whole battle Naruto felt his own panic rose within him. He had downplayed it with anger and smirks but seeing his teacher so broken… Asuka choked once again on her own emotions and so did the young ex-marine in chains.

"Should you do something to free them, Garp, I am going to kill you too." Sengoku snorted at the sight.

"If I could do that I had already done so." The Vice-Admiral growled.

Suddenly pirates and Marines interrupted their fights for a second. A shockwave shook them and even Whitebeard had to look at the source. Directly behind one of his flagships something exploded and it wasn't something from the Marines or one of the crews under his command. The ice cracked into thousand pieces and gave way for swath to the one that Oars formed. It surprised the old captain when a ship emerged the same way he did but the sight of that pirate ship wasn't a new one to Newgate. He had seen that particular ship already in Drum.

The _Konoha Pirates_ arrived.  
Seeing the jolly roger of another pirate ship and one as mighty as the _Moby Dick_ itself let the pirates' spirits fly high and they cheered for their arriving comrades.

"They are finally here!" Naruto cheered, not holding back any tears of joy. Garp watched in amazement the fast reaction of the crew. Even Asuka cheered for them, but soon regretted it because even more people could and would die for her.

"No one of the _Konoha_ Crew is going to die, Asuka." Naruto promised her, believing in their strength.

As soon as the _Konoha Pirates_ threw they anchor the first of the _Konoha Crew_ jumped down and ran for the _Moby Dick_. Shikamaru dragged Luffy behind him and dodged Marines after Marines. Sasuke, Kiba, Shino, Lee, Choji, Ino, Sakura, Hinata, Neji followed him in a closed formation. Tenten was the only one staying behind but he would use the ship-cannons, most of all their blast-cannon to kill as many Marines as possible in distance. They were followed by most of the prisoners of Impel Down.

Soon they reached the _Moby Dick_ and Luffy took the liberty to catapult the _Konoha Crew_ and himself up, striking Crocodile down in the process.

"Sorry that we couldn't come earlier. We needed to get a present for Asuka." Shikamaru said to the captain who looked down to the navigator.

"Cheeky brat. It is good to have you here but I hope you know the risks you are taking for freeing them." Whitebeard said and Shikamaru nodded. Newgate looked to Luffy and asked where he got that hat. Luffy proudly told him that it was once Shanks hat and he would return it when he became pirate king. Newgate was happy to know that Asuka had a brother like that but he also informed Luffy that he took a great risk in joining that fight.

"Don't underestaimed me, old man." Luffy growled.

"Don't get in my way." Newgate said with a grin and Luffy nodded. The **straw hat** turned to the platform and walked up to the edge of the figurehead of the _Moby Dick_ and breathed in.

"ASUKA!" Luffy bellowed and Asuka looked in the direction of the cry. She could see the small figure of her brother.

"LUFFY!" She shouted back and Sengoku had enough.

"Again one of your grandsons, Garp!" He barked and Garp was shocked to see Luffy here.

Back on the _Moby Dick_ Luffy took off, running straight into the Marines, followed by some of the _Konoha Crew_ and the prisoners of Impel Down.  
Sasuke and Shikamaru stayed back and informed **Whitebeard** about their plan. The older man approved it and nodded to the first mate of the _Konoha Crew_. Sasuke called on his devil fruit power and rose to a giant purple warrior. Marines shrieked in panic and fled from the _Moby Dick_ , fearing a direct hit by the warrior out of pure power. A bow appeared in the hands of the **_Susanoo_** and as soon as the warrior pulled the string an arrow formed itself. Sasuke commanded the warrior to target the one man that caused them a lot of grief.

 ** _He targeted Fleet Admiral Sengoku._**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN** : I took my time and I am sorry... Really T-T In two weeks I write my final exams for my A level and I am stressed out... Just sleeping, learning, eating and repeating... It is soooo hard to write when your brain says ' You are fucked if you don't start to learn right now...' So pls... don't be too hard on me and my grammar, I try my best!  
Still looking for a Beta.

 _I don't own One Piece or Naruto btw._

Here you go!

* * *

 _ **Previously**_

* * *

 _"ASUKA!" Luffy bellowed and Asuka looked in the direction of the cry. She could see the small figure of her brother._

 _"LUFFY!" She shouted back and Sengoku had enough._

 _"Again one of your grandsons, Garp!" He barked and Garp was shocked to see Luffy here._

 _Back on the Moby Dick Luffy took off, running straight into the Marines, followed by some of the Konoha Crew and the prisoners of Impel Down._  
 _Sasuke and Shikamaru stayed back and informed **Whitebeard** about their plan. The older man approved it and nodded to the first mate of the Konoha Crew. Sasuke called on his devil fruit power and rose to a giant purple warrior. Marines shrieked in panic and fled from the Moby Dick, fearing a direct hit by the warrior out of pure power. A bow appeared in the hands of the **Susanoo** and as soon as the warrior pulled the string an arrow formed itself. Sasuke commanded the warrior to target the one man that caused them a lot of grief._

 _ **He targeted Fleet Admiral Sengoku.**_

* * *

 ** _A plan in motion_**

* * *

 _Moments earlier – Moby Dick_

* * *

Shikamaru stand next to **Whitebeard** and looked straight to the platform that kept his captain chained up. He waited for Sasuke to join him because the young Uchiha took his time fighting a Commodore off. Seconds later the fellow raven haired man stood next to the tactician.

"Captain, we would like to discuss a short war-plan with you. Asuka's brother **Straw Hat** Luffy is already set in motion but we would like to fill our role in the whole thing." Shikamaru said rather emotionless and Newgate gave the navigator a short nod, his eyes never met those of the _Konoha_ navigator. Both men knew better than getting distracted with reading the emotion in the other's eyes for a plan that could go havoc.

"At the moment our kind and the queen are in the worst kind of situation, not able to move but our generals are moving fast. We hope that the gold-general is able to break through the enemy lines and free the king. He is able to turn the whole event." Shikamaru started to explain, using shogi codes and hoping the old pirate understood him.

"You want your already hurt king to fight?" Newgate asked surprised and Shikamaru held the one paper to Newgate that he kept on him ever since he lost his captain to the Marines. Only a tiny bit of the paper was white, smaller than the pinky-fingernail of a newborn child. The whole rest was blood red in color. It already started to burn again, slowly but steady.

"That is the Vivre Card of the very man who wanted to give up his life for your daughter, Newgate. Until some days ago it nearly vanished but suddenly it returned a good bit of its former size. I came up with the theory that he had enough time with the curse of his family to form his own plan in case we would come and free them."

"Gurararara! Not only has the brat a devil fruit that could be more powerful than my own when trained correctly, but one of the nine curses? What kind of monster are you growing there?" Newgate said impressed and nodded, signalizing the navigator to continue his plan.

"We think in a full out fight our captain is going to last 2 hours max with that power before he is on his own again. It seemed to have healed him but we don't know what happens when the curse takes its power back after everything. Jinbe told us that he was in a really bad shape and on deaths door most of the time in Impel Down. We plan to let him ran lose giving us enough time to get the queen and injuring the enemy enough for us to retreat and get some time to recover. The first sign of him starting to lose energy and we leave." Shikamaru explained and the old captain nodded again. **Whitebeard** casually deflected a cannonball coming their way.

"So you're setting your cards fully on that brat, Asuka's brother? That's hardly to believe."

"No, that would be rather foolish. We put some failsaves in our plan. At the moment **Straw Hat** is accompanied by four of your fighters, Inuzuka Kiba and Abarume Shino, Hyuuga Neji and Akimichi Choji. Their plan is to give Luffy enough room to reach our goal. Should they fall back Sasuke is going to jump in. Until then it is his task to distract the Admirals and Vice-Admirals as good as possible, using his devil fruit."

"And should your man fail?" Newgate asked.

"Then the _Konoha Pirates_ are going to slaughter everything in their way, uncontrolled like savage beasts, doing everything in their might to get what we want. We have many wild-cards out there starting with **Mugiwara Luffy** and ending with the **Shichibukai**. We also have a hidden card and I certainly hope they reach us in time." Shikamaru said and signaled Sasuke that he could start his distraction.

"You are switching from Shogi to cards, brat. What is our hidden card?" **Whitebeard** asked, interested in the spirit the young crew showed. He should have known that these brats wouldn't give up, not with a man like **Arashi no Namikaze** as captain.

"Two of your fellow Yonkos, Newgate. At the moment **Yellow Flash Minato** and **Red Hair Shanks** are on their way. Both met up six hours ago and entered the **Tarai Current** by Sabaody. It takes them maybe another hour to be in reach of Marineford." Shikamaru told Newgate who whistled silently in surprise. But on the other hand… their nephew and son was in danger.

"You are shitting me, right? Shanks and Minato? The Marines are going down today." **Whitebeard** chuckled and Shikamaru snorted. The tactician turned around and saw Sasuke towering over them, his Susanoo even taller than **Whitebeard** , aiming an energy arrow directly to the execution platform. The Nara gave a nod and the arrow flew.  
Pirates awed when the pure purple arrow soared over their head and seemed to be unstoppable. Admiral Kizaru saw the attack incoming and used his devil fruit's power to try to deflect it. The energy arrow hurt the admiral as soon as it connected with his foot when he tried to kick it away and only changed its direction. Marines cried in panic when the arrow exploded directly within their rows. Even worse was the following shower of these energy arrows.

The pirates stormed forward, cheering on Luffy and the _Konoha pirates,_ challenging the Vice-Admirals. The Marines tried to stop them, a bazooka unit even tried to attack **Whitebeard** himself who just deflected the attack with a slash of his bisento.

* * *

 _Execution platform_

* * *

Naruto cheered with his crew inwardly. He smirked at Sasuke who shoot arrow after arrow in the rows of the Marines, distracting the big shoots. Kizaru and Aokiji had a hard time to defend Sengoku and the execution platform. Both prisoners heard the shouts of their names again and again, Asuka's name more often than Naruto's but the _Konoha Crew_ made sure he would remember that they were their too. The blond also saw that Asuka took it hard. He could understand why she felt guilty and that she didn't feel like she was worth it. She sobbed after every cry of her name more, even harder whenever Sengoku tried to order his men to attack them full force.

"You are idiots, Luffy, and Oyaji." She sobbed.

"What's wrong?" Garp asked, trying to get an answer over the obvious things.

"You know… I accepted my destiny. I gave up. I am going to accept the sword that is going to judge me. I am not going to put up resistance." She said, looking to her old captain and comrades. Naruto gritted his teeth, not wanting to hear how the girl that he loved gave up living. What was it worth? He did all this for her and now she threw their bond away. It hurt deep down his heart and again he felt helpless. Would his crew die for someone who didn't want to be rescued? He was a captain and he sentenced his crew to death over something as stupid as love.

"Please, let my friends go." She said in a calm and final tone, still staring to the ongoing war.

The Fleet-Admiral and Garp ignored her plea and watched the pirate crews ganging up against their outer defiance, trying to destroy the war-ships.

"Clever plan." Garp commented and Sengoku agreed but said that it had no use because the Marines would win.

The blond watched out by himself, not with as much energy as before thanks to Asuka, who took the wind in his sails, how **Mugiwara** passed the first **Shichibukai** , leaving him with Jinbe who challenged Moriah. Boa Hancook took out the next enemy of Monkey D. Luffy's way.

* * *

 _Battlefield_

* * *

" **Straw Hat** we need to get going!" Kiba barked, Akamaru agreeing with him. Luffy left Ivankov behind to fight against Doflamingo and Bartholomew Kuma. Doflamingo soon left for another target but the okama had still to fight hard.

" **Hawkeye!"** Luffy shouted surprised when his next enemy appeared, activating his **Gear 2**. Other pirates tried to give Luffy some room in attacking **Hawkeye Mihawk** directly but the swordsman just shrugged them off and went for the Straw Hat Captain. He slashed a power beam of his sword after the rubber-man who barley evaded the slash. The attack splitted the Konoha-Crew members that escorted **Mugiwara** in half, letting Choji and Shino fall back.

 **Shichibukai** Jinbe, who had just finished his own fight, interrupted Mihawk's next attack, telling the fellow **Shichibukai** that he would do everything for Luffy to reach Ace and hopefully win this war. Mihawk attacked and the remaining Konoha escort helped Luffy out of the wall.  
Jinbe was thrown into the sea by the swordsman who attacked Luffy, forcing Kiba and Neji to scatter from their position next to **Mugiwara**. They saw how Straw Hat gave up one of his attack, fearing for his arms against the sword. Luffy had to open his big mouth, letting Mihawk attacking again which the rubber-man barley dodged. An icy wave-wall was slashed by the swordsman, just like that.

* * *

 _Moby Dick_

* * *

"Sasuke." Shikamaru called and his fellow crewmate held in his attack.

"What is, Nara?" The deep voice of the first mate of the _Konoha Crew_ growled and he shot a cannonball that headed their way.

"You polished your swordsman-ship, didn't you?" Shikamaru, who still stood next to Whitebeard, now with the first mate of the _Whitebeard pirates_ Marco next to him.

"You want me to fight against **Hawkeye**?" The Uchiha asked, his voice nearly trembling in anticipation. That was something Sasuke really wanted to do.

"Yes. Don't hold back. And kill some of the Marines on the way to them." Shikamaru said, now growling, seeing Shino and Choji under heavy attack. The Susanoo marched forward, jumping of the Moby Dick and slicing its way to the **Shichibukai**.

Whitebeard arched a brow and glanced down to the now smoking Nara.

"Why sending him out now?" Marco asked the question instead of Newgate.

"Other than your crew we don't have that much people that have enough strength to fight all day long. The first of our crew are tired out or injured and Naruto wouldn't want one of us dying out here. Sasuke is the only one next to our captain that could go toe on toe with a **Shichibukai** or an Admiral in a full out fight." Shikamaru said calmly, not letting his anger getting a better on him.

"How were you able to manage such a big ship as the _Hi no Ishi_ with just the twelve of you, yoi?" The first mate of the _Whitebeard Pirates_ asked in disbelieves. Such a small crew with a reputation as high as the _Konoha Crew_ not strong, already tiring out?

"Normally we are formed in teams of three. It is like your divisions, just ways smaller. Every team has a special task in a fight, totally different than these of our tasks on the ship. Our heavy hitter team is Naruto and Sasuke with Sakura backing them up all the time. With our captain gone the team lost a lot of strength and that is why we are trying to get him as fast as possible. Normally I wouldn't have sent Choji directly into a fight, holding him back and using him as a hidden card. My team is for capturing, tactics and information gathering. We have another hitting team with Neji, Lee and Tenten but they are too splitted up, filling spots they are needed in at the moment. The others are scattered on the battlefield, getting the attention of the Vice Admirals away from Asuka's brother." Shikamaru said, gritting his teeth after yet another explosion going down somewhere.

"Your team structure is what makes you strong?" Asked Whitebeard this time.

"That and that once we fight together as a unit we aren't stopped in nearly all cases. Only bad things happened to us whenever our group splitted up." The Nara sighed, stomping out his cigarette only to light up the next. Sometimes he hated that he picked up that habit from his old mentor. He really hoped that Asuma was with the _Senkou Pirates_. He needed the advice of the man more than ever.

* * *

 _Battlefield_

* * *

Marines cried in panic when the giant warrior out of pure energy made its way through the battlefield, unflinching to cannonballs and shots due its ability to let these things phase through it, only shielding the diamond pattern up in the warriors head where Sasuke sat.  
As soon as Sasuke reached Mihawk he let his powers vanish and only the _Kusanagi_ shimmered in a purple hue, much like Mihawk's black sword gave off a blue aura. Both swordsmen engaged in their attacks and gave Luffy the chance to run off, crying a "Thanks buddy, I have to go" to Sasuke.

Kiba and Neji soon were back on Luffy's side, blocking attacks from Marines that would have reached the **Straw Hat**. Luffy cried again the name of his sister and these of the _Konoha Crew_ did the same for their _King and Queen_ like they referred to them thanks to Shikamaru. ^

Kizaru seemed to have recovered from the attack of the _Konoha pirate_ because he sent Luffy back with a kick. Jinbe caught the **Straw Hat** and Kizaru sneered at that weak display of power. The _Whitebeard Pirates_ and _Konoha Pirates_ had gathered to back up Luffy who was surprised that so many people would help him.

* * *

 _Execution Platform_

* * *

"End the recording of all video _Den Den Mushis_ right now!" Sengoku ordered, "In the name of justice, that the world government and we, the Marines, stand for with all our might, this war must be won! Nothing shall stop us to get what we want. Some might question us and don't want to trust us anymore and that's why the world doesn't need to know what is going on here."

Four executioners stepped forward, crossing their blades directly in front of the two prisoners. Naruto sighed; his fighting-spirit slowly leaving him, seeing how there was no chance that his friends would make it in time. His head dropped back on his chest, hair shadowing his face. He wanted to remember all these happy days he had with his family, Shanks, Otou-san, Okaa-chan, his time as a marine… it wasn't that bad and he might never had become a pirate without them… his fallen comrades of the _Silent Hunter_ , the song he hummed for them again and again, his new friends who finally gave him a purpose in life, even the _Straw Hats_ , he only met them once and just for a short time, and the _Whitebeards_ who had watched him fighting against their Oyaji who gave up his daughter so she could feel alive on another ship, and Asuka…

He wouldn't cry. He had lived a good life even if it looked like it had no real sense since he couldn't keep his promise to the old man Sarutobi who still waited for new families to come to their small hidden island. He would never beat the Marines up so they would never dare to attack their own again. Justice… the world government would bend that world as much as they liked it.

Explosions were heard all over the place, Pacifista attacked the pirate ships and slaughtered every pirated in their way.

"As soon as the recording is cut of, activate the siege-walls, execute the prisoners and destroy the enemy!" Sengoku ordered again and one marine cried a positive response.

It seemed like not everything worked according to the plan because one of the video snails was stolen by pirates who still kept up the live coverage of the war. Sengoku was furious and ordered to them to find that thing

* * *

 _Moby Dick_

* * *

That betrayal ran deep, even within the Crews that Whitebeard united under him, shocked a lot of people. It seemed like a small chat between old allies until the traitor Squard tried to stab Newgate with his longsword. It was Shikamaru's fast reaction that the strongest man on earth got impaled by one of his allies.

"What?" Squard simply replied, surprised that his attack didn't work how he planned. The shouts of the commanders on the battlefield were carried to them but Whitebeard ordered them to keep fighting.

"People say that devil fruit abilities cannot be passed down to the next generation without the fruit but that's wrong. The ability might not be as strong as the first user, or doesn't show up at all, but with the right training and honing the skills someone has… Centuries ago my family was in the possession of the _Kage Kage no Mi_ and we still have some of the original skillsets." Shikamaru explained calmly and walked away from **Whitebeard** , Squard unwillingly following him.

"Wait." **Whitebeard** ordered and Shikamaru looked up to him, wrinkling his forehead in question.  
Suddenly someone stroke Squard down and Shikamaru stumbled forward, releasing the man in the last second before he would get down too. Marco **the Pheonix** pressed Squard down to the deck, questioning him why he would turn against them. The captain told them he was forced to do it because of their actions.

"Return to the fight, idiots!" Sasuke's shout was heard on the battlefield because the _Whitebeard pirates_ had their focus on the wrong person. Marco even let go of Squard to fret over his captain's health but **Whitebeard** stopped him, to finally hear Squard's accusation. He told them that everything was a trap of the Marines, that it was their fate to die to rescue a single woman, the daughter of the cursed Roger himself, that the Pacifista would destroy them one by one.

Faint explosions went off, destroying allied ships and killing pirate after pirate, just to mark Squard's point. Marco grabbed the man by his shirt and questioned his loyalty and how he could fall for that trap…

"Not only do you dare to say that we cannot win this war, but you say that we do everything just for Asuka. Yeah, we are allied to **Whitebeard** too, but our focus lays on our captain and our nakama, not on family ties. Do you know someone who has the power to weaken every devil fruit user on the field? I do and that man is chained up there." The shadow user growled, standing next to Marco who was surprised by the levelheaded response to Squard's ranting.

"These people down there decided to take the risk. They all knew that they could die today. The _Konoha Crew_ takes the risk and we would die with a smile on our faces. If you are afraid of dying out here… The being a pirate isn't something you should do…" Shikamaru continued and went back to **Whitebeard** , gazing down the battlefield and waiting for the next move.  
He didn't care that Newgate hugged his lost son and still cared about him. **Whitebeard** explained the whole child of the sea thing again and that he would never let one of his sons or daughters suffer because of who he or she was and where they are from. He would accept them all the same.

"It's time to join the battlefield." **Whitebeard** informed the young _Konoha Pirate_ next to him who nodded. The pirates were happy that now one of their cards game into play, cheering for the man that united them.

"In the words of my captain, I'll be off, old man." Shikamaru said and vanished in the crowd of pirates, leading them into the battle. **Whitebeard** gave the navigator a last glance and then gave his full attention to what was going on.

 _ **He had a war to win.**_


End file.
